Character Clues

Character Analysis

Actions

Reese's family lives in the outside world, where he can't go. (That's kind of how prison works.) His mom and his sister only visit once, briefly, and we never even meet his brother or his dad. Still, we know a lot about them through their past actions, which Reese tells us about. His mother doesn't do a lot of mothering; she mostly uses drugs. His father beats him and his brother. His brother Willis recently got shot, meaning he was up to no good. And his little sister, Icy, used to cook him breakfast, which lets us know that she and Reese have a close relationship.

Speech and Dialogue

One of the themes that Lockdown explores is that people aren't necessarily what they seem to be on the surface. To see past stereotypes, you have to really get to know someone, and the way you get to know someone is by talking. Reese talks a lot with Mr. Hooft, who tells Reese about being imprisoned in a children's camp during World War II. We come to understand that Mr. Hooft isn't just a mean old man, but a multifaceted person who has endured real hardships in his life.

Family Life

We see how Reese's dysfunctional family life shapes both his past and his future. His parents are deadbeats, which was a contributing factor in his incarceration. But Reese's desire to protect and support his little sister, Icy, is what motivates him to be a better person.

We understand other characters, too, by seeing them with their families. When Reese watches Toon's parents on visitors' day, he understands his young friend's misery. "I knew Toon felt bad," he tells us. "I felt bad for him. Parents were supposed to be loving us, not telling us about how we were disgracing them" (8.103). Also, when Mr. Hooft's grandson visits, the old man breaks down and tells Reese that he rarely gets visitors. "Mr. Hooft's life was harder than I had thought it was," he says. "All the time he was talking about how much he had done in his life, it was all a front" (24.68). What can we say? Family can really screw things up for people.