A Generous Man: Analysis of Major Characters
"A Generous Man: Analysis of Major Characters" explores the complex interplay of relationships and identities among a cast of characters in a coming-of-age narrative. Central to the story is Milo Mustian, a fifteen-year-old boy navigating the challenges of adolescence while shouldering family responsibilities and seeking his own identity. He grapples with his burgeoning masculinity and the consequences of his actions, particularly in relation to his girlfriend, Lois Provo, who is also exploring her own life alongside her mother, Selma. Selma, who pretends to be Lois's aunt, embodies themes of deception and familial duty, reflecting the struggles of motherhood and the burden of secrets.
The narrative also incorporates Milo's siblings, particularly Rosacoke, who, at eleven, already bears the weight of domestic responsibilities, and Horatio (Rato), who is characterized by his gentle nature and preference for animals over human interaction. The story introduces a town sheriff, Rooster Pomeroy, and his wife, Kate, who add layers of complexity through their troubled marriage and interactions with Milo. The presence of Tom Ryden, Milo's cousin, further complicates the plot, leading to dramatic revelations and confrontations. This character-driven analysis highlights themes of identity, responsibility, and the quest for understanding in a world marked by familial ties and personal challenges.
A Generous Man: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Reynolds Price
First published: 1966
Genre: Novel
Locale: Warren County, North Carolina
Plot: Bildungsroman
Time: The mid-twentieth century
Milo Mustian, a teenage boy struggling to become a man. Fairly short, with red hair, he looks exactly like his cousin Tom Ryden. Only fifteen years old, Milo is proud and cocky, as he demonstrates by bragging about his sexual encounter with Lois Provo, a girl he met at the Warren County Fair. As the oldest child in a household without a father, he shoulders numerous responsibilities and finds himself involved in two separate hunts. The first is a search for his brother Rato, the family dog, Phillip, and an Indian python, Death. The other is a quest for his own identity and for understanding of the world around him.
Lois Provo, Milo's girlfriend. Sixteen years old, with long black hair, she is Milo's first paramour and also one of his first close friends. She travels along the eastern seaboard of the United States with her aunt/mother Selma Provo as part of the fair. Together, she and her mother take care of forty-six snakes, the main attraction being Death, an eighteen-foot python.
Selma Provo, Lois' mother, masquerading as her aunt. A short, plain woman around fifty years of age, she has spent the last sixteen years tending snakes and telling lies. Trying to shield Lois as well as herself from the truth, she concocts a story that her sister Edith Provo died giving birth to Tom Ryden's illegitimate daughter, Lois. Milo discovers that Edith never existed and that Selma actually is Lois' mother rather than her aunt.
Rosacoke Mustian, Milo's younger sister. Like Milo, Rosacoke assumes many family responsibilities, including cooking, washing, and tending her baby sister. Although only eleven years old, she already has resigned herself to a life of drudgery and misery. Lois reads her palm and indicates that Rosacoke will meet a man, bear his child, and then marry him.
Horatio (Rato) Mustian, Milo's younger brother. Mentally slow, Rato is quiet and withdrawn and prefers animals to people. When Phillip, the family dog, becomes ill, Rato attempts to carry the creature several miles to get him to a veterinarian. A sensitive individual, he removes Phillip's muzzle even though the dog supposedly is dangerous because of an illness.
Phillip, the family dog. Diagnosed with everything from worms to rabies, he is supposed to be shot, but he escapes from Rato at the county fair and begins chasing Death, Lois' python. When Rato and Phillip fail to return home, a posse begins to search for them and Death.
Death, an eighteen-foot python given by Tom Ryden as a gift to Lois and Selma Provo. Death has a monetary value of five hundred dollars, but he also takes on a symbolic meaning as the posse becomes obsessed with finding him.
Rooster Pomeroy, the town sheriff and posse leader. Easily distinguished by his large bulk and his stained panama hat, he pairs himself with Milo during the hunt and continually offers the boy advice on handling women. Ironically, Rooster has nothing to crow about, for he and Kate Pomeroy, his wife, are experiencing marital problems. He eventually sends Milo to his house, fairly sure that the youth and his wife will end up in bed together.
Kate Pemberton Pomeroy, Rooster's wife. A twenty-seven-year-old woman with huge black eyes, she is haunted by her past. After seducing Milo, she reveals that years ago she had met Tom Ryden, Milo's look-alike cousin, in a jail cell. Tom had asked her to bear his child, but she refused. Since that time, she has attempted suicide twice at the realization of the passion she has lost.
Tom Ryden, a shiftless wanderer. Physically a middle-aged version of Milo, Tom is believed by everyone to have been killed in World War II. Although he does not make his brief appearance until two-thirds of the way into the novel, his relationships to Lois, Selma, and Kate cause interesting plot twists. Milo is forced to kill him in self-defense when he begins to lose his mind and attacks the boy.