Randy White succeeds Archibald Thorndike as the headmaster of Gravesend Academy. He was previously the headmaster of a small private school in Lake Forest, Illinois, a wealthy community that has historically excluded people of color or Jews from moving in. Before working in education, he was a businessman in the Chicago meat industry. An authoritarian headmaster and a Republican, White frequently butts heads with Owen Meany. He is more concerned with fundraising and financial liability than the wellbeing of his students. When Owen pranks the school by moving Dr. Dolder’s car onto the stage of the auditorium, White refuses to ask for professional help to remove the car and becomes trapped while trying to get it out. He ignores the students’ rights by going through their wallets when Larry Lish is caught with one of Owen’s fake draft cards, and tries to get Owen’s college acceptances rescinded. He is dismissed from the school after Owen’s class graduates.
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Randolph “Randy” White Character Timeline in A Prayer for Owen Meany
The timeline below shows where the character Randolph “Randy” White appears in A Prayer for Owen Meany. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 6: The Voice
In the spring of 1960, Gravesend Academy found its new headmaster. Randolph White, or “Randy,” was the headmaster of a small private day school in Lake Forest, Illinois,...
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Owen predicted the trustees would pick White, also being businessmen. They like decision-makers, and don’t care about his lack of educational background....
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...for Christmas in 1960—he called her his “BENEFACTOR.” That fall, Owen had been busy protesting Randy White’s first decisions as headmaster—to build himself a new house on campus, to move the...
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...young to vote in the real election—the voting age was still twenty-one, at the time. Randy White begins to talk back to The Voice during the morning assemblies, and he personally...
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Chapter 7: The Dream
...walks away. Larry makes no effort to defend his mother, but Mitzy reports Owen to Randy White. Owen tries to defend himself to White, but it’s hard for him and John...
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Mitzy apparently told White that Owen said something anti-Semitic to her, but Owen hadn’t even known she was Jewish....
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...the Main Academy Building and put it on the stage of the Great Hall, where White has moved all the daily meetings to serve his “GRANDSTANDING.” While the team moves the...
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When Dan gets White’s call and sees Owen’s car outside his dorm, he realizes who is probably behind the...
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White refuses to cancel morning meetings or enlist the students’ help; he climbs behind the wheel...
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...onstage. Once Owen confirms that their conversation is confidential, he confesses. Merrill promises to steer White away from suspecting him. Dan tells Owen he doesn’t want to know anything about what...
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Dan protests that confiscating wallets is illegal, but White insists he’s saving the school from the disgrace of having charges brought against its students...
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Walking back to the Main Academy Building, Dan and John see Randy kissing his wife, Sam, goodbye. Randy expects to lead a triumphant morning assembly, believing that...
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White is such a terrible man that he flouts the tradition among “good” schools like Gravesend...
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...he is struck with horror at the sight of the decapitated and amputated statue. When White arrives, he is perfectly oblivious to the unusual crowd or the figure onstage, mistaking it...
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White eventually says, “That’s enough,” but Merrill quietly replies, “I’ll say when it’s ‘enough.’” The students...
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Chapter 9: The Shot
...his daughter Caroline, John’s former girlfriend, are there, with Maureen Early. Mr. Morrison is there. Randy White’s replacement as headmaster is there. The Brinker-Smiths returned to England in opposition to the...
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