Character Clues
Character Analysis
Actions
Sometimes, the quickest way to get a sense of a character is through their actions, and this comes across loud and clear in Eleanor & Park. From the first chapter, we can immediately tell the mean kids (Steve) from the nice kids (Park): Park's got his headphones on to drown out the other kids on the bus, and Steve is "holding court in the last seat" (1.15), starting arguments and yelling racial slurs. Hmm, what does that say about Steve?
And in the actions-speak-louder-than-words department, every kid on that bus bullies Eleanor from the minute she gets on, except Park. Not a single kid will let her sit down, and as Eleanor looks for a seat, "Park heard Tina snicker; she lived for this stuff" (1.38). So, Tina: nice or nasty? That snicker tells us everything we need to know.
Of course, the best example of actions defining a character comes when Park gives up his seat, even though he knows kids like Steve and Tina are going to give him a hard time—in fact, he waits for a "world of suck to hit the fan" (1.60). Just by sliding over and telling Eleanor to sit down, Park shows us he's a genuinely good guy before we even finish Chapter 1.
Don't even get us started on Richie.
Physical Appearances
From the minute we meet Eleanor we know she's different, but more than that, her appearance immediately sets her apart. Her bright red, curly hair, freckles, and curvy figure all combine to single her out for bullying, so her own appearance is a huge factor in her everyday life. Park's just the same way—he looks Korean, and that sets him apart from pretty much everyone else in Omaha. How Eleanor and Park deal with their appearances reveals a lot about each of them.
Eleanor's really insecure about her body—she puts herself down, and is initially embarrassed when Park touches her. But "as embarrassed as she was of her stomach and her freckles […] she wanted Park to touch her more than she could ever feel embarrassed" (42.72). So basically, her feelings for Park are even stronger than her insecurities.
When Park first meets Eleanor, he has no idea why she dresses in such an unusual way, but this tells us a lot about Eleanor, too. The way she dresses—men's clothing, bright colors, even fishing lures in her hair—seems like a bad idea to Park ("If you don't want people to look at you," Park had thought at the time, "don't wear fishing lures in your hair" [7.30]), but Park starts to understand why Eleanor dresses the way she does: she wants to look different because she is different.
Similarly, Park has strong ideas about how he wants to look. He likes wearing only black, and starts wearing eyeliner simply because he feels like it. It's really revealing that Park continues to wear makeup despite his dad's disapproval; like Eleanor, he sets himself apart through how he looks because he's different, too.
Rowell uses physical appearances to tell us about the book's supporting cast, also. Eleanor and Park's descriptions are always vivid and right on the money. From Eleanor describing Park's mom as a "doll," and his dad as "Magnum, P.I." (22.124), to Park's description of Steve with "gorilla arms" (22.28), we always get a vivid sketch of a character as soon as they show up.
Family Life
Families mean a lot in Eleanor & Park's Omaha—a character's social status can be closely tied to who their family is, and how long they've lived in the neighborhood. When we meet Park's family, we immediately understand how he got to be such a decent guy. And when we meet Eleanor's family, we're amazed that she's survived, which tells us a whole lot about her, too.