Character Clues

Character Analysis

Physical Appearance

Since so much of this book deals with growing up and fitting in, physical appearances tell us a lot. Perhaps the clearest demonstration of this, though, can be seen in Margaret's descriptions of her grandparents. Let's start with everyone's favorite grandmother, Grandma Sylvia. Margaret describes her as:

[…] wearing a green suit and had on lots of green eye shadow to match. Her hair was silver blonde. Grandma's hair color changes about once a month. (8.10)

Green is a pretty bold—and uncommon—suit color to wear, and matching green eye shadow begs to be noticed. And if we weren't sure whether "silver blonde" was a hair color that occurs naturally in nature, Margaret promptly lets us know that it's just the result of this month's dye job, and that next month Sylvia will be onto something different.

But we don't just know what Sylvia looks like from these sentences. We also know that she's a woman who likes to be noticed, since she wears bright colors, and who cares about her appearances, since she dyes her hair regularly and matches her eye shadow to her outfit. We also get the sense that Sylvia isn't afraid to do her own thing because it takes a certain amount of confidence to stand out from the crowd visually the way she does.

Now let's look at Margaret's other grandparents. As soon as Margaret describes them physically, we get the sense that they are Grandma Sylvia's polar opposites. Check it out:

I knew it was them right away. I knew it by the way they walked down the airplane stairs, clutching each other. And when they got closer I knew it by my grandmother's shoes—black with laces and fat heels—old lady shoes. My grandfather had white hair around the edges and none on top. He was shorter and fatter than my grandmother. (21.12)

Grandma and Grandpa Hutchins arrives on the scene "clutching each other," a pose which shows nervousness and uncertainty about where they are (which makes sense since they're about to see their estranged daughter for the first time in a long time) and a sort of joined identity (they are literally joined physically, and present a united front throughout their brief visit). Whereas Sylvia stands out in her green suit, these two kind of blend into each other.

And they're old. They wear old shoes and have old hair, a far cry from Sylvia's bold suit and color-of-the-month dye job. Whereas Sylvia feels energetic when Margaret describes her, Grandma and Grandpa Hutchins feels tired and dull before they've even opened their mouths—and all from just a few sentences describing them.

Can you find other examples of physical appearances clueing us into characters and their traits?

Speech and Dialogue

Though Margaret narrates the book, she includes a lot of conversations with other people along the way, and the ways in which people speak—both in terms of the words they use and the content of what they say—lets us know a good deal about them. Check out how Nancy introduces herself:

"Hi," she said. "I'm Nancy Wheeler. The real estate agent sent out a sheet on you. So I know you're Margaret and you're in sixth grade. So am I." (2.2)

Right away we see that Nancy likes to be well informed and in charge. She has, after all, shown up at Margaret's house uninvited. When she says that the real estate agent has already shared some information about Margaret and her family with other people in the neighborhood, it is a subtle way of taking the upper hand in the conversation. Nancy knows something about Margaret, but Margaret knows nothing about Nancy—and Nancy makes a point of saying so. And that she does so lets us know that Nancy likes to be in this power position; otherwise she would have kept the information to herself.

Nancy's not the only character whose words reveal her character though. Though Grandma Sylvia may be the sassiest looking grandma in town, she's also got a heart of gold and supports Margaret without missing a beat. So when Margaret asks Grandma Sylvia if she can tell that she's wearing a bra, Grandma Sylvia knows exactly what her granddaughter needs to hear. She says:

"Of course I can tell," Grandma said.

"You can?" I was really surprised. I stopped eating. "Well, how do you think it makes me look?"

"Much older," Grandma said, between sips of her coffee. I didn't know whether to believe her or not so I believed her. (8.14-16)

She may be lying through her teeth, but Grandma Sylvia's words still make it crystal clear that she understands and support Margaret. And that Margaret even talks about bras with Sylvia shows us that Grandma Sylvia is one open-minded granny.