Evalutation of Characters from "Reunion" and "Drinking Coffee Elsewhere"

Examination of characters:

Reunion –

Charlie – the son in this story seems to really want to love his father. At the beginning of this story he expresses how proud and happy to be with his father he is, however by the end of the story he comes to the realization that he does not like the personality and arrogance of his father. Charlie appears to be shy and soft spoken. He never tells his dad what is bothering him and never shows any signs of embarrassment for the way his father is treating the waitresses and waiters. However Charlie still demonstrates signs of unrequited love for his father. At the end of the story Charlie refers to his father as “daddy” three times in a row. This proves that Charlie acknowledges that his father is his father and it is somewhat of an affectionate term. Charlie is perhaps continually saying “daddy” in order to build in his mind a relationship, full of affection with his father, which he does not have. However ultimately he does not see his father every again, implying that actions speak louder than words and he does not like or value his fathers character.

Father – Charlie’s father is boisterous, arrogant, aggressive, pompous, irritating and self righteous. These qualities are expressed in his interactions with the waiter and the newsstand clerk. He addresses them very rudely. He seems to want to impress his son very much, ordering his underage son beer, and continually stating that he wishes he could have brought Charlie to his club….if only they had more time. His father also seems very unaware of his actions and how they are affecting Charlie. Charlie is obviously remaining quite quiet, and very uncomfortable with his father’s behavior, however his father takes no notice of this. Charlie’s father is good looking, however he does not have a pleasant personality. Furthermore he is often yelling at waiters in a different language, perhaps representing that Charlie does not want to hear of understand the things his father is saying because of how crude they are.

Drinking Coffee Elsewhere:

Dina – Dina is a black girl who comes from an area of poverty in Baltimore. She is a loner and very quick to judge other people. She has these enormous feelings of animosity against white people, black people, happy people, people who want to help her… basically everybody and anybody. People are always reaching out to her, and she is always turning them away. Her mother died when she was younger and she did have a rough childhood where money way tight, and these experiences have affected her very much. She is confused about her sexuality and keeps turning her back on her attempts towards happiness. She is smart, witty, and unafraid to stand up for herself and always prepared with a quick comeback to someone’s remark. However she does care a lot about what people think about her. She also comes across as insensitive and nonchalant about important issues, such as Heidi’s mom’s death. In my opinion this is why she is afraid to go forth in her relationship with Heidi. Dina is an intellectual thinker, and as her physiatrist describes her, a pretender. She sees her life as she wants to see it, and when things don’t go as planned she has no problems pretending nothing is wrong. She is afraid or accomplishment and failure and therefore never finishes anything she starts including her relationship with Heidi and her education at college. She is a thinker not a doer. She can sit in a room all day thinking of actions which she would like to do, but has trouble actually attaining and accomplishing her goals.

Heidi – Heidi is a girl from Canada who goes to Yale with Dina. She seems more relatable and real than Dina. For starters she experiences actual emotions and is not afraid to let others into her life. She is a loner but not by choice, people judge her based on her dikey and slightly over weight appearance. She is a nurturer, as demonstrated with her constant and open affection with Dina. Heidi will place her arm around Dina, or give her a hug when she is sad. Furthermore when Dina runs away from Heidi, Heidi stays by her side. This is evident when the girls are talking about their future professions and what they will be. Dina says she wants a library in a deserted town, and Heidi says she wants a phyciatrist clinic in that ghost town so she can help and be with Dina. Heidi is also more sensitive to other people’s problems. She is more open and accepting of herself, and this is shown when she admits that she a lesbian and proud on coming out day. Heidi is slightly self conscious and gives into peer pressure a little more easily than Dina. Heidi did not want to undress because she felt she was fat, and she started smoking cigarettes in an attempt to stifle her appetite so she would lose weight.