Character Clues

Character Analysis

Actions

If there's one thing that Grandma Dowdel teaches the kids, it's that talk is cheap—and that what you do is what counts. Grandma Dowdel doesn't like to brag or talk about how she helps other people, but through her actions, you can see that she is a really kindhearted and generous person. She goes out of her way to bring old Aunt Puss food every single week…and she never tells a soul about it.

Direct Characterization

Many of the more secondary characters—like Effie Wilcox and the Weidenbachs—are simply described by Grandma Dowdel and the narrator, and we take their words for it. Through Grandma Dowdel's characterizations, we come to know that Effie Wilcox is a serious gossip and that the Weidenbachs are kind of jerks who have more money than everyone else in town.