Character Clues

Character Analysis

Actions

Charlie may be thinking things over like woah, but he also gives us plenty of action. He doesn't exactly shy from confrontation: when Gimpy steals from the bakery and a group of people laugh at a busboy, he speaks up. The grand escape from the Chicago conference is probably Charlie's boldest action, and his most character-defining. All these moments of action make sure we know that we've got a brave and ethical guy on our hands, ladies and gentlemen.

Physical Appearances

If we're going by Charlie's version of the world, the beautiful people are also the nicest. Take Alice Kinnian, for example: "She has pigeon-soft brown eyes and feathery brown hair down to the hollow of her neck" (76). Charlie gets pretty good at reading people, so maybe he just recognizes how their inner beauty shows through. Yeah it's corny, but it also explains a lot about Charlie's positive outlook.

Family Life

Oh boy, do we get some juicy tidbits about family life in Flowers. We don't get any examples of good families, but it's safe to say that the parental units have a hand in defining their children's characters. Anyway, we find out exactly how many ways having a bad family can mess with your life—Charlie and Norma are always struggling to break free of their awful childhoods, while Professor Nemur just lets his wife boss him around.