Character Analysis

The seven-year old daughter of the white family, whose name is short for Candace, plays just two roles in this story, so we're sure you can get a sense of her quickly.

Number one: she asks questions about everything the adults are saying. She just doesn't get the gist of adult conversation, and does that constant question-asking thing kids do so well. For example, when her father tells Nancy she'd be better off if she left white men alone, that is to say, stop her prostitution, Caddy innocently asks, "Let what white men alone [...] How let them alone?" (1.64). These questions heighten the impact of the story, upping the irony since we realize Nancy's plight and the children don't.

Number two: she picks on her younger brother Jason. She keeps calling him "scairy cat" and otherwise knocking him for being scared of the dark. The story even ends with her and Jason arguing back and forth over how scared Jason is. Their arguments seem to reflect the failure of the white family: they can't help Nancy, because all they can do is bicker.

Caddy also shows up in The Sound and the Fury, by the way.