Antagonist

Character Role Analysis

Carl "Bear"

You could make a case for a few different antagonists in this book. Miller causes Rafe tons of problems. The entirety of Hills Village Middle School really bums him out. Rafe even gets in his own way.

But the #1 person who causes Rafe grief is Bear. The main reason Rafe doesn't have access to his mom's love and support is because she's working extra shifts to provide for Bear. Plus, Bear's main goal in life seems to be cutting Rafe down to size while being as verbally abusive as possible. And the fact that he pushes Rafe's mom down in the end is super scary.

We're just glad that this is one villain Rafe was able to get rid of forever.