Dead End In Norvelt

Though Miss Volker isn’t the main character, her dominant, outspoken personality turns the main character, Jack, into her sidekick. Aside from her role as the chief nurse and medical examiner, Miss Volker composes the obituaries for the Norvelt News. She also writes the “This Day in History” columns, which Mr. Greene reruns. Since she has arthritis, she can’t write anymore, so she turns Jack into her “scribe.” While Jack is her assistant and technically works for her—though his mother won’t let him accept monetary payment from Miss Volker—the relationship is one of a mentor and mentee. Miss Volker becomes the key catalyst to Jack’s change, particularly regarding History as Guidance and Confronting Death and Violence. She operates on Jack’s nose, helping him control his nosebleeds—or, figuratively speaking, his reactions to the world. Through her obituaries and columns, she teaches him about history and the women who lived in Norvelt. Miss Volker is an educator, and she imparts her knowledge to Jack, who puts some of it into practice.

Miss Volker has a strong sense of self. She is a static character who doesn’t change throughout the novel. Somewhat stubborn, Miss Volker isn’t perfect, and she intentionally misrepresents history to fit her beliefs. She portrays Eleanor Roosevelt as a god who all but single-handedly created Norvelt. She also maintains Thomas Jefferson’s populist image by omitting his direct link to enslavement, racism, and classism. Miss Volker admits that she distorts the record: “Most all of what I say is true. But if you don’t know your history you won’t know the difference between the truth and wishful thinking” (256). Her aim isn’t to deceive people but to create stories that will inspire them.

Mom is Jack’s mother. Her character remains rather stable, but how the novel depicts her changes. Initially, the text portrays Mom as a victim of her husband. Dad dismisses her wishes and orders Jack to destroy her cornfield. Due to Jack firing the Japanese rifle, she grounds him for an indefinite period. After that, he destroys her cornfield, and she grounds him for the summer. Thus, Mom is a disciplinarian. She’s not afraid of confrontation. She finds Jack on the baseball field and drags him home. She then gives Dad a “tongue lashing.” Later, Dad tells Jack, “I bought my way out of that trouble. I took her down to the grocery store yesterday and paid for a cartful of charity food to make up for the corn she was going to trade for groceries” (137). In other words, Mom gets justice and reparations from those who have wronged her. Mom tells Jack, “Hey, I wear the pants in this family” (207). The quote is humorous and captures the truth: Mom is in charge.

Like Miss Volker, Mom has anti-capitalist views. While playing the board game Monopoly on Jack’s birthday, Mom comments, “It teaches you how to ruin other people’s lives without caring” (221). Mom prefers a bartering economy, though she doesn’t get her way. With the farrier, she tries to compensate him with Jack instead of cash. Earlier, she tries to pay Dr. Mertz with pickles or jarred fruit. None of these transactions work out for Mom. However, she remains dedicated to an anti-cash economy; she stays devoted to the community, cooking dinner for the older women and not yielding to Dad’s desire to move to Florida.

Dad is Jack’s father. He is characterized as volatile and insensitive. He destroys Mom’s cornfield and has a fantastical notion of building a runway so that he can fly his World War II plane anywhere, anytime. He also is against communism, and he repeatedly refers to Japanese people using the racial slur “Japs.” While Dad uses racist language to refer to Japanese people, he admits that he sees them as human beings, telling Jack, “[I]n real life when you are eye to eye with the enemy you’d rather shake their hand than shoot them” (106).

Though Dad doesn’t change and is a static character, he is a round character and has many layers. He can be conscientious and caring. For example, he teaches Jack about gun safety. Additionally, after coming across inebriated deer hunters, he warns him to never drink and use guns or drink and drive. After Jack realizes that dropping the water balloons on moviegoers is scaring them, he convinces his father to stop. This shows his ability to listen to Jack’s feelings and requests.

Mr. Spizz is an “original Norvelter” who heads the Norvelt Association for the Public Good and is an antagonist. Previously, he and Miss Volker had a romantic relationship, but now she despises him. He’s self-serving and overbearing, giving Jack’s family a $23 ticket for obstructing the gutters with the weeds. He’s also a source of ridicule since he rides around on a tricycle. About Mr. Spizz, Miss Volker declares, “That man is the town irritant” (162). Even kindhearted Mom admits that Mr. Spizz “bugs” her. However, she adds, “[I]n a small town you have to forgive people for their faults no matter if you want to or not” (158). Despite his odious presence for many, he is community minded and dedicated, putting out the fires.

Although Mr. Spizz is a static character who doesn’t change throughout the novel, the novel’s conclusion adds nuance to his antagonist characterization. He confesses to murdering the women because he was in love with Miss Volker. Previously, Miss Volker promised to marry him once every original Norvelter died. While he escapes at the novel’s end, this action—coupled with his decision to tell Jack to go to Miss Volker’s house to untie her—demonstrates his care for her, albeit in a twisted way.

Bunny is the daughter of Oscar Huffer, who owns Norvelt’s funeral parlor and sponsors the baseball team. Similar in age to Jack, Bunny is his friend. Jack presents a Bunny as having traits he lacks, which makes her a foil to him. Jack says, “[S]he was tough, smart, and daring. Because she grew up in a house full of dead people she wasn’t afraid of anything” (76). Bunny is assertive and fearless, while Jack is timid and anxious. Their contrast leads to conflict, with Bunny feeling neglected. Their conflict doesn’t last long, however. Bunny becomes an informant, telling Jack about her father’s plans to buy the empty houses in Norvelt and move them to Eleanor, West Virginia.

Mr. Huffer is Bunny’s father, and he runs Norvelt’s funeral parlor. His character is flat. Like Mr. Spizz, Mr. Huffer is an inimical presence. This makes him a minor antagonist. He accelerates the decline of Norvelt by buying empty houses and moving them to Eleanor, West Virginia, a town with a larger population. He will also move his funeral parlor there. The scheme turns Mr. Huffer into an exploitative capitalist, and it leads Jack to suspect that he could be killing the older woman to attract more business for himself.