The Witches

The unnamed boy is the main character, narrator, and protagonist. The novel means for the reader to be on his side, fear for his safety when he’s stuck in the ballroom with the witches and trapped in the Grand High Witch’s room, and root for him to survive and put the mouse formula in the witches’ food.

The boy has many positive traits. He is loving and loyal. He tells his grandma: “I would never want to live longer than you. I couldn’t stand being looked after by anybody else” (205). He also thinks for himself. He adores his grandma, but he doesn’t just accept what she says. When his grandma tells him about witches, the boy acknowledges: “I was not prepared to believe everything my grandmother told me” (23).

Aside from his grandma, the boy doesn’t spend much time with people. He has a best friend, Timmy, but Timmy isn’t a consequential character. Separate from his grandma, the boy is independent and can find ways to occupy himself and get by. He trains his mice, William and Mary, in the ballroom and fends for himself in the kitchen and Grand High Witch’s room. Thus, the boy has confidence.