Pylon: Analysis of Major Characters
"Pylon: Analysis of Major Characters" explores the complex dynamics among a group of individuals centered around a flying team and their associated struggles and relationships. Lazarus, the main protagonist and a reporter, is characterized as a tall, gaunt figure who becomes intricately involved with the team while covering an air show. His personal investment leads to a tragic outcome, affecting the lives around him, particularly after contributing to the circumstances of Roger Shumann's death. Roger, the team leader and an ambitious pilot, faces a series of dangerous flights that ultimately culminate in his demise. LaVerne Shumann, an attractive and multifaceted woman, balances her roles as a mechanic, mother, and wife, revealing the complexities of her relationships with both Roger and Jack Holmes, who becomes increasingly jealous and aggressive. Other notable characters include Jiggs, a heavy-drinking mechanic, and Colonel Feinman, whose decisions impact the team's fate. The narrative delves into themes of ambition, infatuation, and the burdens of personal choice, as each character grapples with their circumstances in a world marked by both aspiration and tragedy.
Pylon: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: William Faulkner
First published: 1935
Genre: Modernist realism
Locale: Primarily New Valois, Franciana, and Ohio
Plot: Modernism
Time: Mid-Depression, during Mardi Gras
Lazarus, a reporter, the major protagonist. He is described as tall, gaunt, and pale; often he is called the specter man or is likened to a cadaver or a corpse. Covering the air show at the dedication of the new airport, he becomes involved with a flying team, giving them lodging in his room and providing them with food, drink, and money. He is, falsely, said to have had no origin and to have no family; his mother calls on his editor on one occasion. He suffers in various ways because of his infatuation with the team. Indirectly, he causes Roger's death.
Roger Shumann, a pilot and leader of the flying team. He shares LaVerne with Jack Holmes. In the competition, he places well in his first race, crashes his plane in the second, and loses his life crashing an experimental plane in his third.
LaVerne Shumann, an attractive and desirable woman. She is the mother of young Jack; either Roger or Jack Holmes is the father. After discovering her pregnancy, Roger and Jack shot dice to see which of them would marry her: Roger won to become the lucky bridegroom. LaVerne wears coveralls and does mechanic's work with the men; she has been an exhibition parachute jumper. At the end, she leaves the boy with Roger's parents and departs with Jack Holmes. She is pregnant again.
Jack Shumann, the son of LaVerne and either Roger Shumann or Jack Holmes. He bears the first name of one and the last name of the other. He is enraged when anyone asks who his father is. The reporter buys him ice cream and candy. Jack sleeps in the reporter's bed with Roger and LaVerne. He calls team members by their first names.
Jack Holmes, a parachutist and member of the team. He is described as taller than the others. Toward the end, he has injured his leg but continues to perform. Unlike Roger, he becomes violently jealous when anyone other than Roger shows interest in LaVerne. On one occasion, he attacks the reporter while enjoying his hospitality.
Jiggs, a mechanic and member of the team. He is short and stocky. He is caught up in acquiring a new pair of boots, even though there is less than enough money for food and lodging. A former exhibition parachutist, he leaves the team and returns to his previous line of work. He is a heavy drinker, and his inability to perform his duties results in the first crash.
Hagood, the reporter's editor. He is hard-nosed and businesslike on the surface, but he relents, giving money to the reporter and reversing his decisions to fire him.
Colonel H. I. Feinman, the chairman of the New Valois Sewage Board. The airport, which is more or less the result of his efforts, is named for him. He is also the authority who decides that Roger will be permitted to fly the death plane. He utilizes all the available beds for his guests, leaving the flying teams with no lodging other than in town.
Dr. Carl Shumann, a Midwestern family physician. A good man, he makes little money, serving his patients in any place and any kind of weather. Having financed Roger's first plane, he has mortgaged and lost his home and is now living in a smaller one. He and his wife take in young Jack without knowing whether he is their grandson. He throws the reporter's money in the fire, thinking that it has come from LaVerne.