A Small, Good Thing Characters

Ann, Howard’s wife, is a 33-year-old mother to an eight-year-old boy, Scotty. At the beginning of the story, Ann is a cheerful woman who seems fulfilled by motherhood and overjoyed about her son’s… read analysis of Ann Weiss

Howard is Ann’s husband and eight-year-old Scotty’s father. Prior to Scotty’s accident, he leads a life that he recognizes is happy and “lucky,” in the sense that nothing particularly traumatic has happened to… read analysis of Howard Weiss

Scotty is Ann and Howard Weiss’s eight-year-old son. At the beginning of the story, he’s still seven and will be turning eight the following Monday. On the morning of his birthday, however, he gets… read analysis of Scotty Weiss

Ann Weiss orders her son Scotty’s birthday cake from the baker. He is an older man, and he’s polite yet abrupt and uninterested in small talk when taking Ann’s order. When Ann fails to… read analysis of The Baker

Franklin is a teenage boy who’s hospitalized at the same time Scotty is in his coma. He was stabbed while watching a fight at a party, even though he wasn’t participating in the fight. Ann… read analysis of Franklin

Ann meets a family in the hospital waiting room when she’s looking for the elevator. The family is waiting for news about their son, Franklin, who is in surgery after being stabbed in a… read analysis of Franklin’s Family

The driver who hits Scotty with his car knows that he has hit a child. He waits until Scotty gets up to drive away from the scene of the accident. The driver never appears again… read analysis of The Driver