Character Analysis
Old Friend
Colonel Rosso is a father figure to Julie and, to a lesser extent, Perry. Even though he is General Grigio's lackey, he's capable of independent thought. He mentors Perry, introducing him to the wonders of The Epic of Gilgamesh, and he gives Julie an adult male to talk to when her father won't listen (which is all the time).
He's not in the book much, but in a story where adults are conspicuously absent, he represents the only decent old fogey in the whole book.