Ray Nickel Character Analysis in A Complicated Kindness

Nomi’s father, a mild-mannered teacher and devout Mennonite. Unlike many members of the community, Ray is highly educated, encouraging Nomi to read widely and develop opinions on scientific and philosophical topics, and he’s a fairly progressive man, deferring all decisions to his wife Trudie and rarely punishing or opposing his daughters even as they transgress community norms. Yet, characterized by his omnipresent suit and tie (traditional attire of Mennonite men), devotion to hard work, and humble demeanor, he’s also deeply motivated by religious belief and committed to the Mennonite way of life. Nomi admires her father’s simple faith, which shapes his sympathetic character and provides him with a sense of purpose, but he often frustrates her with his grief-stricken apathy and his refusal to challenge communal norms, even when those norms are responsible for the breakup of their family. Ray reacts to family catastrophe by simply refusing to acknowledge it, behavior that is reflected in his house’s slow decline as he stops caring for it. His behavior makes Nomi feel that she must stay home to care for Ray and protect his precarious mental health, despite her intense desire to leave. Ray understands this dynamic, and he eventually leaves town first and then encourages Nomi to do the same, ultimately allowing his daughter to build her own life without giving up on her family.

Ray Nickel Quotes in A Complicated Kindness

The A Complicated Kindness quotes below are all either spoken by Ray Nickel or refer to Ray Nickel. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

The only thing I needed to know was that we were all going to live forever, together, happily, in heaven and with God, and without pain and sadness and sin. And in my town that is the deal. It’s taken for granted. We’ve been hand-picked. We’re on a fast track, singled out, and saved.

Related Characters: Nomi Nickel (speaker), Tash Nickel, Ray Nickel, Trudie Nickel

Page Number and Citation: 17

Explanation and Analysis:

Nomi opens her narrative as a disaffected teenager who has rejected Mennonite principles and feels ambivalent about God’s existence. Yet her recurring flashbacks, which begin here, paint a different picture of her younger years. In part because she’s only exposed to extremely conservative religious ideas, Nomi starts out life certain about the righteousness of Mennonite principles and committed to living her life according to them. This ideology provides Nomi with comfort and security, as it reinforces her love for her family and assures her that they will share a blissful afterlife together. At the same time, it also fosters deep Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti

I turned the paper over and studied a chart titled “Satan Cast Down.” There were different categories linked together with arrows and verses. Rapture, saved dead, unsaved dead, millennium, bottomless pit, lake of fire, beast and false prophet, new heaven, new earth. I tried to follow the complicated system of arrows and timelines.

Related Characters: Nomi Nickel (speaker), Ray Nickel, The Mouth, Mr. Quiring

Page Number and Citation: 184

Explanation and Analysis:

One morning in her kitchen, Nomi stumbles across a religious chart Ray has brought home from church. The chart explains the biblical story of Satan’s fall through a complex system of “arrows and verses.” The Bible is a complex and beautiful narrative; Nomi, who will later be moved by the verses Ray cites in a letter to her, certainly recognizes that. But in order to “prove” God’s power and the Devil’s destruction, The Mouth has reduced this narrative to a handful of buzzwords and symbols, making it not only unintelligible but laughable. Nomi thus uses this moment to critique powerful Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commo

I asked him why he was getting rid of the furniture and he said he liked empty spaces because you could imagine what might go in them someday.

We were quiet for a long, long time. Then I told him I wasn’t going anywhere. That I’d never leave him.

Related Characters: Nomi Nickel (speaker), Ray Nickel

Related Symbols: Nomi’s House

Page Number and Citation: 193

Explanation and Analysis:

Nomi and Ray often seem to go days without seeing each other, but one morning she wakes up to find him sitting by her bed, and they have an unexpectedly frank conversation. For a long time, Nomi has been frustrated by Ray’s habit of selling essential pieces of furniture, and now she asks him the reason for this strange behavior. Ray’s plaintive answer reveals his grief in the wake of Trudie and Tash’s disappearances: he needs to think about the house’s “future” because dwelling on its past is too painful. Thus, this passage makes an explicit symbolic connection between the Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debit

I’m pretty sure she left town for his sake. It would have killed him to choose between her or the church. The only decision he’d ever made without her help was to wear a suit and tie every day of his life. How could he stand up and publicly denounce a woman he loved more than anything in the world. And how could he turn away from the church that could, someday, forgive his wife and secure their future together in paradise, for all time.

Related Characters: Nomi Nickel (speaker), Ray Nickel, Trudie Nickel

Page Number and Citation: 194

Explanation and Analysis:

After finally confessing that Trudie has actually been excommunicated from the Mennonite church, Nomi meditates on this underlying reason for Trudie’s departure from the community. This passage explicitly casts the church as the enemy of familial unity and happiness, showing the serious human cost of adhering unquestioningly to religious dogma. However, at the same time that she condemns the church’s impersonal cruelty, Nomi validates the viewpoints of people like Ray who are still committed to Mennonite principles and hesitant to defy the church openly. Her capacity for acceptance contrasts with the intolerance of the church. Additionally, this passage shows how Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. U

And we counted cars with American plates—twenty-seven. On their way to watch The Mouth read Revelations by candlelight in the fake church while the people of the real town sat in a field of dirt cheering on collisions.

Related Characters: Nomi Nickel (speaker), Ray Nickel, The Mouth

Page Number and Citation: 206

Explanation and Analysis:

In a rare spontaneous gesture, Ray has taken Nomi to a demolition derby in a nearby town, and father and daughter watch as cars wreck each other in the dirt. The image Nomi paints of Ray watching the spectacle in his suit and tie embodies the tension between past and present that characterizes Mennonite communities. The Mouth considers this reality shameful; by performing for tourists in the “fake church” and ignoring the real desires of his congregants, he attempts to suppress and ignore it. However, just as Nomi finds beauty in the peripheral wastelands of her town, she derives more Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus volupta

Truthfully, this story ends with me still sitting on the floor of my room wondering who I’ll become if I leave this town and remembering when I was little kid and loved to fall asleep in my bed […] listening to the voices of my sister and my mother talking and laughing in the kitchen and the sounds of my dad poking around in the yard, making things beautiful right outside my bedroom window.

Related Characters: Nomi Nickel (speaker), Trudie Nickel, Ray Nickel, Tash Nickel

Page Number and Citation: 246

Explanation and Analysis:

Just before this passage, Nomi told Mr. Quiring that she’s packed up her things and is driving away from town forever. Now she reverses course, admitting that she has yet to take this drastic step. This is a typical narrative technique for Nomi, in that she tells her story in a nonlinear way and uses an episode that isn’t factual to communicate a broader truth: her bittersweet feelings at the thought of leaving home. Nomi creates a meaningful and complex narrative by prioritizing feelings and imagination, implicitly countering Mr. Quiring’s “factual” but reductive approach to storytelling. Meanwhile, Nomi’s positive memories Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliqua

Ray Nickel Character Timeline in A Complicated Kindness

The timeline below shows where the character Ray Nickel appears in A Complicated Kindness. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Nomi Nickel lives with her father, Ray, in a small bungalow near the highway. Ever since her mother, Trudie, and sister,... (full context)

...doesn’t live at home any more, having left soon after Tash ran away. Nomi and Ray have no idea where they are. Ray tells Nomi that the two of them are... (full context)

...something seething away inside of her, something fierce and unpredictable.” She’s a stark contrast to Ray, who is happy in the company of his two daughters and “fun-loving wife.” (full context)

...help out, and once threw a romance novel into a charity box as a prank. Ray seems to love Trudie whether she’s breaking the rules or upholding them, but Nomi thinks... (full context)

...attend the parade; instead, she watches from the roof with a bunch of teenage boys. Ray and Nomi can’t decide if she’s “crazy in a cool, fun way,” or in a... (full context)

...ability to predict the weather or her unique way of folding towels. While Trudie and Ray love each other fiercely, it often seems like they have nothing to say. One time,... (full context)

...the weekly sermon and turn on the radio instead. Through the doorway they can see Ray, periodically falling asleep during the sermon; he’s “toeing the line” between his wife and his... (full context)

Ray always wears large glasses, which make him look a bit confused and as if as... (full context)

Nomi remembers that a few weeks after Trudie left home, Ray began to build a new garbage hutch—something that Trudie always wanted him to do—while she... (full context)

...but she’s not a very good cook, so they don’t always work out well. When Ray looks skeptically at tonight’s dinner of vegetables and pear nectar, she responds defensively that she... (full context)

Nomi remembers that, on their first date, Ray and Trudie walked to church together. Once they reached the door, Ray didn’t know whether... (full context)

Christian Salvation vs. Earthly Joy Theme Icon

...there was the word.” She wishes she lived in New York. On the other hand, Ray never misses a church service. Nomi used to be embarrassed of him, but now she... (full context)

...Nomi has left of her is her magazine collection and her razor blades. Nomi and Ray used to get excited every time the phone rang, but now they hardly notice it. (full context)

After Trudie and Tash leave the family, The Mouth comes over to pray with Ray and Nomi. He tells them bracingly that they can’t “live in crisis forever.” Ray evades... (full context)

Nomi is sitting on her driveway pushing fake seashells into the melting asphalt when Ray pulls into the driveway on his bicycle. He gives her some chalk from the school... (full context)

...watch the lights in the city come on. When she gets home, she finds that Ray has left a copy of The Screwtape Letters on her desk. Nomi puts on one... (full context)

...meet The Comb, a local drug dealer, and buy marijuana. They are arguing about whether Ray and Trudie ever had chemistry; Nomi says that they once did, but Travis argues that... (full context)

When Nomi gets home, Ray is on the roof cleaning out the gutters. Nomi asks him to come down, but... (full context)

...comforts her to buy the same pack of cigarettes every time, just as it comforts Ray to watch Hymn Sing on TV every night. Nomi plans to quit when she’s 40,... (full context)

...notice her. She remembers that Trudie used to take her for long walks at night. Ray is sitting in his lawn chair when she gets home. Nomi thinks that Travis might... (full context)

Ray comes inside to “have a staring contest with the kitchen table.” Nomi puts on a... (full context)

Nomi thinks about her mother. Living in East Village, Trudie has Ray, her children, and books to keep her occupied, and everyone in the town knows who... (full context)

...nylons. But Trudie doesn’t like to hang around and shake hands after the service; while Ray lingers, she takes Nomi and Tash to sit in the car. Nomi knows she’s a... (full context)

...their houses. Trudie always nods at these speeches, but the house never becomes more orderly. Ray doesn’t pay attention, preferring to focus on science and isotopes. He likes to talk to... (full context)

...is excited because there will be boys there. Nomi is supposed to take care of Ray, and she comes up with an “alphabet routine,” cooking a food from a different letter... (full context)

...the books. Sometimes parents used the library to discipline children who were misbehaving during service. Ray built new shelves for the library; he was always happy to be with Trudie, no... (full context)

...was. Nomi loved to watch her sister put on sexy lingerie before school while listening Ray shaving and Trudie cooking downstairs. Thinking about Tash and listening to the neighbor girls screaming... (full context)

...suspicious attitude still bothers her. One day in class, he tells her that he’s seen Ray mowing the lawn on Sunday, which is against the rules. (full context)

...though she was too young to understand exactly what it was. One day, she overheard Ray telling Trudie that the good times of today will simply be painful memories later on.... (full context)

...parents’ room and fell asleep under her bed. When she wakes up, Trudie was telling Ray that she though they were losing Tash forever. The next day, Tash and Trudie refused... (full context)

...day, Tash gave Nomi a rainbow decal, which Nomi put on the living room window. Ray made her take it off; he didn’t like “overt symbols of hope.” When his school... (full context)

Tash told Nomi that Ray and Trudie couldn’t even say the word “party” because it’s against Mennonite rules. On a... (full context)

...When she would stride out of the house in her skimpy tank tops, Trudie assured Ray that it was just a phase. After watching Tash for a few mournful seconds, she... (full context)

One day, Mr. Quiring visited the house to tell Trudie and Ray that Tash had been skipping school and ignoring her assignments. He admitted that Tash was... (full context)

Nomi thinks that Trudie and Tash are the same kind of person, while she and Ray are themselves alike. Trudie seems to view Mr. Quiring as a kind of “guidance counselor”... (full context)

...and read books about communist philosophy. Tash started talking about “metaphors” all the time—this frustrated Ray, who says that “some things are nothing but what they are.” While Tash’s sexy lingerie... (full context)

...a gynecologist appointment after school, but she stops by the general store first and buys Ray a plastic bird that can drink water. Back on the street, she sees a toddler... (full context)

The doctor asks Nomi if her father knows that she’s getting on the Pill; bluffing, she says that he does. The Mouth... (full context)

...singing quietly. She shows Lids her birth control prescription and the bird she bought for Ray, both of which Lids admires. Lids tells Nomi that she heard the doctor refer to... (full context)

Back home, Ray is sitting in a lawn chair in the driveway and looking at the highway. He... (full context)

On the way home, Ray says sadly that he’s a bad parent. Nomi assures him that he’s not, and sings... (full context)

Nomi recalls turning 13 three days before Tash and Ian left town. Nomi knew that Ray and Trudie were having tense discussions all the time, but she didn’t really understand their... (full context)

...and Trudie talking in low voices. Then Trudie went into the kitchen to talk to Ray. When Nomi knocked on Tash’s door, her sister welcomed her uncharacteristically kindly and suggested they... (full context)

...first birth control pill and lays in bed, feeling anxious about her life. She hears Ray come upstairs and lie down in his own bed. It’s funny that both of them... (full context)

...of any kind of meat, and he gives her a roast to cook for her dad. Outside, some boys from school drive by and call her a “doob,” a local slang... (full context)

Ray comes in from watering the flowers and sees that Nomi has been crying. He asks... (full context)

Nomi likes to see Ray driving because he looks in control of his life. She admits that she bought a... (full context)

Nomi knows that Ray wants to move the boot to a better place, so she teases him about organizing... (full context)

When Nomi and Ray return home, they find a bullet hole in the house’s picture window. A policeman comes... (full context)

...to go because he used the word “flat,” and stalks back to her house, where Ray is sitting in front of the bullet-shattered window working on a watercolor painting. She goes... (full context)

Inside, Nomi sees that the dining-room table is gone. Ray explains that he has sold it, along with the freezer, in which he found the... (full context)

After Ray finishes the grave, he leaves Nomi lying outside. After a while, she goes inside, puts... (full context)

...night and stopped speaking almost entirely. One afternoon, Nomi came home to find Trudie and Ray crying in each others’ arms. Another day, Nomi got mad at Trudie because she forgot... (full context)

...expectations, it doesn’t smell bad and it almost looks pretty. Tash once told Nomi that Ray proposed to Trudie here, so Nomi reflects that the lagoon is the reason for her... (full context)

...whenever she thought about boys she always sneezed, and she was terrified that Trudie and Ray are going to discover what the sneezes mean. (full context)

When Nomi gets home, Ray says that the school has called to tell him that she’s skipping too much class... (full context)

Ray leaves and Nomi goes downstairs, where she finds a piece of paper on which Ray... (full context)

...puts on a halter top and a lot of makeup. She leaves a note for Ray promising to go to school and asking a question about Canadian history because he loves... (full context)

...left.” Trudie cried for a little while and then left the room. The next morning, Ray was looking dully out of the picture window and Trudie had left. Ray doesn’t say... (full context)

...home, but the old woman didn’t respond. A few weeks after that, Nomi was folding Ray’s laundry and putting it away. She opened a drawer and found Trudie’s passport and some... (full context)

Nomi walks home from the museum village to find Ray asleep in his lawn chair with a photo album. She checks the mileage on his... (full context)

When Nomi wakes up in the morning, Ray is sitting at her bedside. He says that a storm has caused a lot of... (full context)

Nomi thinks that Trudie didn’t take her because Trudie knew Ray needed company more than she did. She also thinks that Trudie left town so that... (full context)

For Ray’s birthday, Nomi buys a frog-shaped garden decoration and makes crêpes with syrup and cantaloupe. For... (full context)

When Nomi gets home, there’s a note from Ray asking if she has plans after graduation. Nomi passes out in bed and is still... (full context)

...up in The Comb’s trailer. She notices that she’s lying on her own couch, which Ray has apparently sold to The Comb. The Comb’s cousin, Eldon, brings her a beer. Nomi... (full context)

Dragging her French horn, Nomi walks all the way back to her house, where Ray is intently examining a pile of coupons for fabric softener. He informs her that her... (full context)

Instead of making dinner, Ray and Nomi decide to go to the Demolition Derby. Ray is the only person there... (full context)

Nomi walks to the school where Ray teaches and waves at him through the window. His desk is filled with flowers that... (full context)

Nomi is still awake when Ray pulls into the driveway at 4:00 in the morning. She goes downstairs and poaches him... (full context)

...the woods and then played tag in the water by the island, and Nomi saw Ray and Trudie kissing. As the sun set, they roasted marshmallows, and when the boat reappeared... (full context)

In the present day, Nomi asks Ray if Trudie really acted in musicals. Ray nods and says that The Mouth took her... (full context)

Nomi aces the test while Ray looks on proudly. She makes minestrone soup for dinner. She tells Ray that in order... (full context)

...to Trudie’s old room and lay down. On the bureau was an old picture of Ray with one of his classes. (full context)

...at the dump. She decides she will live here in the car and sometimes have Ray over for dinner. (full context)

After some time, Ray comes to find Nomi at the dump, bringing her a muffin. She tells him that... (full context)

...announces that the church has decided to excommunicate Nomi for skipping church and setting fires. Ray says that he understands. The Mouth says that the neighbors are starting to talk about... (full context)

After The Mouth leaves, Ray starts to quote the Bible, saying that “all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.” He... (full context)

Nomi announces that she is now the sole owner of her family’s car. Ray has even taken it to the car wash before disappearing. She wonders how he left... (full context)

Nomi sits in Ray’s lawn chair for a while, in case he comes back. She concludes that he has... (full context)

...believes that Trudie began a relationship with Mr. Quiring out of grief, and returned to Ray out of love, both for him and for the idea of her family. Love is... (full context)

...of her reverie when the little neighbor girl rubs her bald head. Nomi quietly thanks Ray for knowing that, in order for Nomi to break away from East Village, he had... (full context)

It occurs to Nomi that Trudie might have left town not reluctantly, to spare Ray the pain of shunning her, but exuberantly, to embrace all the possibilities of the outside... (full context)

...quietly somewhere in Canada or has managed to leave the country without her passport. Perhaps Ray has killed himself as well. Nomi decides that she’s going to put her faith in... (full context)

...a kid and falling asleep listening to Tash and Trudie talking in the kitchen and Ray working in the yard, “making things beautiful right outside my window.” (full context)

Ray Nickel Character Analysis

Ray Nickel Quotes in A Complicated Kindness

Chapter Two Quotes

Chapter Twenty-Two Quotes

Chapter Twenty-Three Quotes

Chapter Twenty-Four Quotes

Chapter Twenty-Eight Quotes

Ray Nickel Character Timeline in A Complicated Kindness