Dominic Palazzolo

Character Analysis

Another neighborhood kid outside the narrators' group, Dominic's an outsider for different reasons. He's an Italian immigrant staying with relatives in the neighborhood. He falls in love with a girl at school and dramatically jumps from his roof (unharmed) because she doesn't love him back. Cecilia had a crush on him, and she saw him jump. Some people think his love for another girl caused her to slit her wrists in the bathtub like the ancient Romans did, to prove her love for him. Dominic's quite the dresser, very European according to the narrators: tight pants, Dingo boots, sunglasses, silk scarf—the kind of exotic kid a strange girl like Cecilia might find interesting.