Character Study

April Wheeler:
April is a emotional, confused, and dramatic character. She is an average suburban wife and mother, and she acts in a failure of a play. Not only does April work in the drama department, but she also creates the most unnecessary drama in every aspect of her life. One day April despises her husband and swears that she will leave him, the next day she is passionately in love with her husband, and then the next day she is quietly depressed and unsatisfied with her life. She even tells her husband that she does not love him; "I don't love you and I never really have, and I never really figured it out until this week, and that's why I'd just as soon not do any talking right now" (Yates 358). Part of me thinks that April is a dynamic character because her emotions are constantly changing, but it is almost like a cycle that she goes through, and that makes me think of her as a static character. Throughout the novel the reader learns that April suffered from a very difficult childhood with absent parents and a lack of attention. Now, these childhood memories seem to haunt every decision that April makes. Also, April is very pretentious and believes that she lives among people that are not worldly enough to understand her. For this reason, she wants to move to Paris with her husband and kids. April has a false sense of reality and is similar to a child in the way that she throws many tantrums and always tries to appear more mature than she actually is.

Frank Wheeler:
Frank is an average businessman who lives a dull life. Nothing seems to excite Frank, and he longs for a more interesting job in a more interesting world. Throughout the entire novel, Frank complains of his job, "Actually it's sort of a stupid job. I mean there's nothing - you know, interesting about it, or anything," (Yates 255), but he never does figure out what he wants to do. Frank is madly in love with his wife, April, but he is not the most faithful of husbands. He has an ongoing affair with a younger woman who works at his office. Despite this, Frank loves his wife, mostly because she makes everyday a new adventure. April drives him up and down, left and right, and Frank is always too angry or in love to be bored. Like April, Frank longs to move to Europe and "find himself", because he thinks that Americans just aren't good enough to be associates with. Frank remains a static character throughout most of the novel, but at the end of the novel he goes through a drastic change. April dies, and because of this, all of the life is sucked out of Frank. He was at first an enthusiastic, lively man, but he changes to a hollow, lifeless man.

Mrs. Givings:
Helen Givings, the Wheeler's real estate agent and neighbor, is the town busybody. She has to know everything about everyone, and she is constantly full of gossip. She also judges everybody, and it seems as though nobody can live up to her standards. I think that she is one of the most amusing characters because she is so fake. Shortly after April dies she says how much she didn't like the Wheelers, but before she only sucked up to them. "Oh, I was very fond of the Wheelers, but they always were a bit - a bit whimsical, for my taste. A bit neurotic. I may not have stressed it, but they were often very trying people to deal with, in many ways" (Yates 462). I think this quote exemplifies her true nature of being two-faced. But later in the storyline, you learn that Mrs. Givings lives an imperfect life; her husband is just a man that she settled for, her son is in a mental institution, and she doesn't have any real friends. After learning this, I realized that the reason she is so involved in others' lives is because she is so dissatisfied with her own life.

John Givings:
John is the son of Helen, and he is a young man who suffers from a serious mental disorder. John is rude, he has no self-control, but he has a way of always saying the truth. The novel is full of lies and secrets, and John Givings is one of the greatest secrets, because it was such a scandal to have a retarded son. Ironically enough, John is the character who sheds new light on all of the other characters and reveals facts and traits that others want hidden. At one time John says, "I get the feeling she's female. You know what the difference between female and feminine is? Huh? Well, here's a hint: a feminine woman never laughs out loud and always shaves her armpits. Old Helen in there is feminine as hell," (Yates 260). This quote fits in with all of John's other quotes; they are rude and inappropriate, but they are surprisingly true.

Milly Campbell:
Milly is April's best friend and the one constant, sweet, and pure character in this book. She truly loves her friends, family, and life, and she only has people's best wishes at heart. "Milly Campbell dropped her shoes and squirmed deep into the sofa cushions, her ankles snug beneath her buttocks and her uplifted face crinkling into a good sport's smile" (Yates 78). There is always the air of innocence and purity around Milly, because her heart is so kind. Milly is the one ray of hope for living a truly happy life.

Shep Campbell:
Shep is Milly's husband, and he is best friends with Frank. All through the book, Shep longs for April Wheeler because he thinks that she is so elegant and perfect. One time with April, "he would forget everything - his wife, his fear, everything - and go for her all the way," (Yates 347) and that is just what he did. This only happens once, but Shep swears that he is in love with April. I think that Shep represents the stupid fool who always wants what he can't have, and never really appreciates what he does have. He is a foil to his wife, because she appreciates everything surrounding her and only has pure thoughts.