Guide Mentor

Character Role Analysis

Ezra Mannon

When you think of a "guide" or "mentor" you think of somebody who's always around, ready to be there when you need them and never short on good advice. Off at war when Homecoming starts, and dead before the first play in O'Neill's trilogy ends, it might seem hard to see how Ezra Mannon acts like a guide or mentor. But everything from the way Lavinia walks and sounds like a soldier barking orders to her unhealthy fascination with what people think about the Mannons suggest that she and her father have a whole lot in common. Christine says as much.

Then there's Lavinia's frantic plea when her father dies in her arms: "Father! Don't leave me alone! Come back to me! Tell me what to do!" (Homecoming, Act 4) That sure makes it sound like Lavinia depended upon her father for help and guidance. It's trying to do right by the spirit of old Ezra, after all, that makes Lavinia convince Orin to help her kill Brant and Christine. Maybe he wasn't the best of mentors, but Lavinia definitely took more than one page from his book. He continues to inspire love and fear after he's dead and gone. Looking down from his portrait on the wall, he still has a powerful effect on his wife and children.