Cold Sassy Tree Character Analysis Will Tweedy
Aubrey H.
Period 3
American Literature
April 11, 2013
Character Analysis Struggles in life influence people to develop into who they will truly be. The struggles depicted in Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns caused certain characters to be the way they are. Will Tweedy is the narrator and the main character in the novel. He is a fourteen-year-old boy growing up in Cold Sassy, Georgia. As a young adult with a free spirit, he appears to be very defiant throughout his teenage years. After Will’s grandmother, Mattie Lou, dies and his widower grandfather, Mr. Rucker Blakeslee, gets remarried to Ms. Love Simpson he begins to struggle with issues regarding love, prejudice, and death. During this process we see that Will is developing a new perspective on his own life, he is growing up from a naive boy to a courageous man. Will is thought to be the mirror image of his grandfather Rucker Blakeslee, who is also very rebellious and tremendously friendly to everyone in Cold Sassy. Will has to deal with many conflicts in his life, including being run over by a train and being put in the middle of his grandfather’s new marriage. This round, dynamic character can be thought of as an individual who is friendly, loyal, and courageous. In the beginning of the novel Will Tweedy does not know how to feel about the tragic events that were occurring around him. With his mother, Mary Willis, and his Aunt Loma being so distraught about their fathers new marriage only three weeks after their own mother died, he is forced to hide a lot of emotions he encounters. The new marriage was such a mystery to everyone in Cold Sassy and Will seemed to be the only one with enough confidence to ask what was truly going on. After blurting out the question to Ms. Love, “How come you married my grandpa?” (Burns, 126) Will immediately wished he could have taken it back. Spending time with Ms. Love allowed him to accept her presence within his family; he soon understood why Grandpa Blakeslee would
Period 3
American Literature
April 11, 2013
Character Analysis Struggles in life influence people to develop into who they will truly be. The struggles depicted in Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns caused certain characters to be the way they are. Will Tweedy is the narrator and the main character in the novel. He is a fourteen-year-old boy growing up in Cold Sassy, Georgia. As a young adult with a free spirit, he appears to be very defiant throughout his teenage years. After Will’s grandmother, Mattie Lou, dies and his widower grandfather, Mr. Rucker Blakeslee, gets remarried to Ms. Love Simpson he begins to struggle with issues regarding love, prejudice, and death. During this process we see that Will is developing a new perspective on his own life, he is growing up from a naive boy to a courageous man. Will is thought to be the mirror image of his grandfather Rucker Blakeslee, who is also very rebellious and tremendously friendly to everyone in Cold Sassy. Will has to deal with many conflicts in his life, including being run over by a train and being put in the middle of his grandfather’s new marriage. This round, dynamic character can be thought of as an individual who is friendly, loyal, and courageous. In the beginning of the novel Will Tweedy does not know how to feel about the tragic events that were occurring around him. With his mother, Mary Willis, and his Aunt Loma being so distraught about their fathers new marriage only three weeks after their own mother died, he is forced to hide a lot of emotions he encounters. The new marriage was such a mystery to everyone in Cold Sassy and Will seemed to be the only one with enough confidence to ask what was truly going on. After blurting out the question to Ms. Love, “How come you married my grandpa?” (Burns, 126) Will immediately wished he could have taken it back. Spending time with Ms. Love allowed him to accept her presence within his family; he soon understood why Grandpa Blakeslee would