Franklin’s Family Character Analysis

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 fight at a party. Franklin wasn’t participating in the fight, only watching, but he was stabbed anyway. When Ann enters the waiting room on her way out of the hospital, his mother, father, and teenaged sister want to know if she has news about their son. She apologizes and tells them that she’s also waiting for news about her own son. Ann feels an immediate connection to the family and longs to talk with them more, because they’re coping with the same uncertainty and fear that she is. But when Ann returns to the hospital soon after this, the family is gone. She asks the nurses what happened to Franklin and learns that he has died. Although Frank’s family’s presence in the story is brief, the instant bond that Ann feels with them speaks to the importance of human connection and understanding during difficult times.