Rhea Character Analysis in A Visit from the Goon Squad

A punk rocker in her youth, Rhea dyes her hair green to assume a punk identity, but feels self conscious about her freckles. Rhea is in love with Bennie, but feels left out because Bennie likes Alice. Lou considers her, along with Jocelyn, as one of “his girls,” and later in life she visits him as he is dying. Though she doesn’t have a sexual relationship with Lou, she feels both left out and disgusted by Lou’s relationship with Jocelyn. Rhea ends up settling into a more traditional life as an adult. She gets married and has three children.

Rhea Quotes in A Visit from the Goon Squad

The A Visit from the Goon Squad quotes below are all either spoken by Rhea or refer to Rhea. 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:

). Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Anchor Books edition of A Visit from the Goon Squad published in 2011.

I can't tell if [Alice’s] actually real, or if she's stopped caring if she's real or not. Or is not caring what makes a person real.

Related Characters: (speaker),

Page Number and Citation: 58

Explanation and Analysis:

Every night, my mother ticks off another day I've been clean. It's more than a year, my longest yet. "Jocelyn, You've got so much life in front of you," she says. And when I believe her, for a minute, there's a lifting over my eyes. Like walking out of a dark room.

Related Characters: (speaker), ,

Page Number and Citation: 91

Explanation and Analysis:

Rhea Character Timeline in A Visit from the Goon Squad

The timeline below shows where the character Rhea appears in A Visit from the Goon Squad. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Identity, Authenticity, and Meaning Theme Icon

Connection, Disconnection, and Technology Theme Icon

This story is told through the voice of a young woman named Rhea. Late at night, Rhea, Scotty, Bennie, and Jocelyn go to Alice’s house. Alice tells the... (full context)

Fame, Art, and Popular Culture Theme Icon

The year is 1979, and Rhea is glad that the 1980s are almost here. She is sick of the burned out... (full context)

...who dress in a particular style), who hang out down the path from the pit. Rhea wonders why the cholos talk to him, and Jocelyn tells her that Bennie is a... (full context)

Rhea notes that nobody in the group wants to date her. She blames this on her... (full context)

On Saturday, Jocelyn and Rhea go to Scotty’s garage for band practice. Alice is there with a recorder that her... (full context)

...of the practice, a kid named Marty shows up to try out for the band. Rhea notes that he is overweight, has pimples, wears an AC/DC t-shirt, and plays violin. They... (full context)

The band goes to the Mab every Saturday after band practice. They drink from Rhea’s dad’s liquor before going, and Rhea notes that Jocelyn needs to drink more than her... (full context)

...Lou. After the concert, they return to Alice’s house, where Alice’s mom serves them yogurt. Rhea remembers one night Alice’s mom brought hot cocoa to them on a gold tray, and... (full context)

Alice takes the uniforms from her closet and asks if Rhea is making a joke. Rhea says no, and promises not to laugh with Jocelyn later... (full context)

Later, Bennie tells Jocelyn and Rhea that the Flaming Dildos got a gig at the Mab. They shriek and hug him,... (full context)

After the news, Jocelyn uses Rhea’s phone (at her house) to call Lou. Lou scolds Jocelyn, telling her not to call... (full context)

The night of the concert, Rhea and Jocelyn meet Lou for dinner at a fancy restaurant. Rhea notes that he looks... (full context)

They walk together to the Mab, Rhea and Jocelyn beneath Lou’s arm. In the hustle and bustle of Broadway, Rhea feels that... (full context)

...tries to tackle the people throwing garbage. The crowd erupts, and everyone begins slam dancing. Rhea notices Scotty close his eyes, and notes that his magnetism is starting to work. One... (full context)

Rhea turns to Jocelyn, and is surprised to find her kneeling in front of Lou, giving... (full context)

...the concert, everyone goes to Lou’s house. The apartment is more extravagant than Jocelyn told Rhea, and she feels betrayed by this. Inside, everyone is shook up from the show. Lou... (full context)

Lou comes into the bedroom, and Rhea leaves. She waits, at the top of the stairs, looking down into the living room.... (full context)

After a short while, Lou joins Rhea on the balcony. Rhea asks him if he remembers being their age, and Lou responds... (full context)

Two weeks later, Jocelyn runs away. Rhea tells her parents that she is with Lou. Scotty and Alice have begun dating, and... (full context)

While Rhea is waiting for Jocelyn to come home, Alice invites her over to her house. She... (full context)

Jocelyn and Rhea, adults now, return to Lou’s house. Twenty years have passed since the last time they... (full context)

Jocelyn can only say “hello,” and Rhea notes that everything is the same. They both laugh at this. Lou tells them they... (full context)

Rhea shows Lou a photo of her children, and Lou says her sixteen-year-old daughter is cute.... (full context)

...colostomy bag. She begins to cry, thinking that Lou has cost her so much time. Rhea hugs her, and Jocelyn remembers Lou telling her that Rhea is doomed because of her... (full context)

Lou tells Rhea and Jocelyn he hasn’t been outside in weeks, so they push his bed outside to... (full context)

Jocelyn asks about Rolph, forgetting that he committed suicide years ago. Rhea shakes her head. Jocelyn remembers the way Lou treated her while they were together, having... (full context)

...He puts his arms around them and says it’s nice to be with Jocelyn and Rhea again. They look at the water and listen to the birds. He asks for another... (full context)