Character Clues

Character Analysis

Actions

All the main characters take at least one big action that tells us something major about them. Georgie's, of course, is her journey to find her sister, which lets us know that she's intrepid and does not mind taking matters into her own hands. As Billy says:

"Come on, Fry, we all know you. You were resolute. Even Mr. Bolte said he didn't think he could dissuade you, not after he heard you'd offered me the Bechtler dollars." (11.116)

Speaking of taking matters into her own hands, we also find out that Georgie's willing to throw her sister under the bus to get what she wants out of their relationship when she totally tattles to Mr. Olmstead about Agatha's kiss with Billy.

For Agatha's part, her big moment is running away in the first place, which lets us know a girl's going to do what a girl's going to do no matter what—Agatha is the type to find a way to get what she wants. Georgie recalls:

That she had enough money to go to university for one year was another thing all together. Agatha was good at making money. She gave tours to ladies wanting to explore the river and its caves, and she sold seeds and seedlings in our store. But I had no idea she'd saved up so much money. Was it all in that tin box under the closet floorboard? I had never dared to look. The one time I happened to step on that particular board (and I swear that's all I did), Agatha questioned me for an hour. (3.10)

Agatha's also a planner, someone who fixes her eyes on something and works to make it happen, as evidenced by her secret stash under the floorboard. She doesn't, in other words, just decide to run off one day.

We discover Billy's dark side when we find out he staged that kiss on purpose to get Mr. Olmstead to break up with Agatha. And we find out that Mr. Olmstead is really an okay guy when he comes looking for Georgie and Billy and takes care of them after their shootout with the Garrow Gang:

The ropes of the bed had been turned tight. The sheets were clean. A rug lay folded at the foot of the bed. In the closet hung a new set of clothes—everything from snow-white bloomers to a fine cloth blouse and, finally, a store-bought split skirt. (Where had Mr. Olmstead found that?) The miraculous continued when I saw breakfast laid out on a table and, on the floor, a large copper tub for bathing. Every bit of it was paid for by Mr. Olmstead. (19.2)

Despite all the talking Georgie does in One Came Home, actions really do speak louder than words in this book.

Direct Characterization

Georgie is never shy about telling us exactly what she thinks of any character, not even when she finally starts to see what all the other girls see in Billy McCabe. (Check out his analysis in the "Characters" section for a description of what all the girls do see in Billy). Georgie lets us know straight-up what she thinks of everyone—the problem is, of course, that Georgie's first impressions are often wrong and clouded by her own desires and prejudices. Oops.

For example, Georgie initially does not have an especially good opinion of either Billy or Mr. Olmstead because she believes that a relationship with either one would take Agatha away from her. Georgie says:

Billy McCabe had corrupted my sister's character. It began the moment he and Agatha became best friends at that town picnic on the bluff. Billy was fifteen, Agatha was fourteen, and I was nine. (6.19)

Of Mr. Benjamin Olmstead, Georgie says grudgingly:

I started thinking that Mr. Olmstead must truly care for my sister. Why else would a man let himself be shat upon by thousands of birds? (7.60)

Despite Georgie's constant annoyance with Billy, she tends to be more in his corner simply because he is familiar and like a big brother to her—and maybe because she thinks he's a lot younger and cuter than Mr. Olmstead.

However, Georgie—and the reader—often have to reevaluate her first impressions based on new information, like when Billy admits his trickery and Mr. Olmstead comes to the rescue. So while there's direct characterization aplenty in this book thanks to our narrator's straight-forward style, there's also a fair amount of room for corrections on this front. Luckily, though, Georgie's equally forthcoming about the errors in her judgment.

Occupation

Real or desired occupation is a big enough deal in this book that it sets off the main conflict. Georgie wants Agatha to stay in Placid and help her in the store, which she plans to inherit, but Agatha wants to go to the University of Wisconsin and learn to be a professional naturalist. In the following passage, these desires conflict:

I started in: "It won't be so bad… A living is as good an inheritance as anyone's got. I'd make a fine partner."

Agatha groaned. "All you do is parrot Grandfather Bolte. I'm going to sleep." (3.46-47)

Georgie's a homebody at heart (for more on that be sure to check out her analysis in the "Characters" section), but Agatha is the opposite—and their desired occupations reflect these qualities in them. For his part, Grandfather Bolte is very practical and careful with money, except when he needs to take a risk for the sake of the store, which is just what we'd expect from a businessman. Georgie explains:

Of course, when it all worked out, and Grandfather Bolte made all that money, he was hailed as a business genius. No one called him a gambler. Not one. (6.95)

Finally, Mr. Garrow and Bowler Hat behave in exactly the way we'd expect from a couple of hardened criminals—they get into a shootout with anyone who tries to stop them. Counterfeiters gonna counterfeit, you know?