Antagonist

Character Role Analysis

The Cheerleaders

Steinbeck's real foe is probably a combo of boredom and isolation, but since we tend to like to use characters for these categories, we think that the Cheerleaders—you know, those mean ladies who protested integration in New Orleans by shouting at small children arriving at school—fit the bill pretty, er, "nicely" (that's the only nice thing about them). Their blind anger and hatred run directly counter to the kind of good-natured and thoughtful analysis that Steinbeck has been giving us throughout the book, so they seem like pretty clear antagonists to us.