Character Clues

Character Analysis

Names

Some of the characters' names help us understand what they're about. Rise's name suggests both his ambition and his inflated ego. Sidney Rock, the friendly neighborhood cop, is dependable and solid (you know, as a rock); you can count on him. "Diablo" is the Spanish word for devil, so we know the Diablos, a violent gang, are some pretty bad dudes. And on the opposite end of the spectrum we have Pastor Loving. Go on, take a wild guess what we're supposed to think of him.

Actions

On a fundamental level, the three main characters' actions tell us who they are. Jesse and C.J. are artists. Their art gives them something positive to focus on, but it also helps us understand their inner lives. (They're both pretty sensitive dudes.) Rise, on the other hand, deals drugs and murders people. Is he all bad? Nope—but he's definitely making pretty bad decisions.

With Jesse and C.J., we also understand their characters through their nervous tics. We know that "whenever [C.J.] was nervous, he always ate too much, which is why he was heavy" (4.29). As for Jesse, he's the opposite: When he's nervous, his stomach hurts. Jesse also sleeps a lot during the day, preferring to nap than spend quality time with his problems, so when he hits the hay, readers know he's feeling stressed or bummed out.

Thoughts and Opinions

The way that Rise's opinions on subjects like drugs and murder have changed over time help us understand the character. Jesse sees a huge difference in what Rise used to believe (before the book opens) and what he believes now. When Rise tells Jesse that he's thinking about dealing drugs, Jesse says:

"That doesn't even sound like you. All the time you talking about not doing drugs and how that stuff is sucking the life out of the hood, and now you're radioing about dealing? What kind of crap is that?" (8.34)

He doesn't understand how Rise's beliefs have changed so dramatically. But in Rise's change of heart about drugs, it's clear he's heading down a different path than the one he and Jesse used to walk along together.

Jesse spends most of the book hoping he can bring back the "old" Rise, but toward the end, when he finds out that Rise ordered the hit on the Diablos, he knows his old friend is gone. "The Rise I knew could not have set anyone up to be shot, to be killed" (22.4), he says. The old Rise is dead—and the new Rise is about to be. Literally.