Background of Main Characters
(Pearl Tull) - Pearl is a rather complex character. Two of her children, Cody and Jenny, occasionally assert that she is a crazy witch. Pearl is born into a fine fail and marries a younger man, Beck Tull. Beck’s job as a salesman causes the family to move several times throughout the novel before they settle in Baltimore. Wherever she and her husband settled, Pearl kept herself isolated from the community, a pattern that continued throughout her life. Early in Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, Beck deserts her and their children, with hardly any explanation, leaving her to raise three children. Pearl is an independent and hardworking woman. Pearl is a perfectionist and sets impossibly high standards for herself and her children. Because Pearl’s standards are incredibly demanding, she is never satisfied with anything she or her children accomplish. She is tough on her children, sometimes too tough, for she can prove to be mentally and physically abusive towards them. |
(Cody Tull) - He is the eldest son of Pearl and Buck Tull. Cody’s point of view is more apparent in the novel than any other characters. Cody, along with his siblings, has a troubled childhood. He is abused by mother, deserted by his father, and he is constantly reminded by his parents that he will never be as good of a person as his younger brother, Ezra. Cody’s lack of affection and trolled childhood causes him to develop negative character traits and hate his home. Cody develops into a mean, jealous, manipulative, and greedy person. Part of Cody's problems result from his unspoken guilt over his father's departure. At the age of fourteen, he wonders if he is the reason his father deserts the family. Cody is not the reason his father left, but because he does not voice his feelings, no one in the family understands the extent of his guilt and inner suffering. |