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Mr. Barker
Kelly is Ishmael’s love interest. She attends Lourdes School for Girls and is on her school’s debate team. Ishmael is immediately taken with her when he notices her icy blue eyes and her beautiful smile. But things go downhill for Ishmael when, the first time Ishmael has to debate in competition against Kelly’s team, he faints—and accidentally gropes Kelly’s breast as he falls. After this, Ishmael figures he has no chance with Kelly. But months later, Kelly finds Ishmael and thanks him for defending her brother, Marty, against Barry and Barry’s cronies. She also encourages Ishmael to read Moby-Dick to figure out what the character Ishmael in the novel is like. Ishmael remains convinced that Kelly is out of his league until the end of the school year, when Ignatius passes Ishmael a note from Kelly inviting him and Razza to a party at the end of the Christmas holidays.
Kelly Faulkner Quotes in Don’t Call Me Ishmael
The Don’t Call Me Ishmael quotes below are all either spoken by Kelly Faulkner or refer to Kelly Faulkner. 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:
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Chapter 40 Quotes
“What’s he like?”
“My father?”
“No—Ishmael—the person you’re named after.”
“Oh yeah, right,” I said, feeling like a dork.
“Well?”
“What…oh…I don’t know what he’s like. I’ve never read it.”
“Really? You haven’t read it? How come? If I was named after someone in a book, I’d definitely want to read it to find out what they were like. You know, see if I was like them.”
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After the debating final, Kelly Faulkner seeks out Ishmael to talk. The conversation eventually turns to Ishmael’s name, and he shares that he hates it and that his name comes from the novel Moby-Dick. Up until this point, Ishmael has been pretty confident in the fact that he hates his name and hates the fact that he’s named after a fictional character. Kelly seems to bring him down to earth when she asks what Herman Melville’s Ishmael is like, and why Ishmael hasn’t bothered to take the time to read Moby-Dick and find out. This introduces the possibility that Ishmael 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 debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Duc
And then it happened. Kelly Faulkner laughed, and her beautiful pale eyes melted my heart like ice cream in a microwave till all that remained was an awful empty feeling. That’s when I knew. Nothing would happen between us. I’d been kidding myself. It just wasn’t possible for eyes as beautiful as that to see anyone as ordinary as me. For the first time, I didn’t feel like a nervous wreck in Kelly Faulkner’s presence. What did I have to worry about?
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When Ishmael makes Kelly laugh after the debating final, he suddenly realizes he doesn’t have to be self-conscious—he decides that nothing is going to happen between them anyway, so it’s not worth worrying about it. Ishmael frames his sudden realization as a negative thing. This reflects his lack of self-confidence. He doesn’t see himself as funny, interesting, or charming, so obviously, he reasons, Kelly isn’t going to want to have anything to do with him. (This, of course, ignores the fact that Ishmael has just made Kelly laugh and recently rescued her brother from bullies—objectively, he’s doing pretty well. But 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 debitis. Voluptat
Chapter 41 Quotes
The second thing I decided to do was ask Dad if I could borrow his copy of Moby-Dick. “Aaarrgh, me hearty,” he said, rolling his eyes crazily, “ye be seeking the white whale!”
I wasn’t, though. I be seeking Ishmael.
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After talking with Kelly at the debate finals, Ishmael decides it’s time to read Moby-Dick and figure out what his namesake is all about. Dad is clearly making a joke and playing when he puts on the crazed captain voice and suggests that Ishmael is after the white whale in the novel, Moby Dick. But he also suggests that the conflict between Captain Ahab and the whale is the reason that people read the novel. Even though Ishmael insists that at this point Dad is wrong, Dad ultimately ends up being right—Ishmael finds he identifies with Captain Ahab more than 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 debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis.
Chapter 50 Quotes
But do you want to know the really weird thing? Well, I’ll tell you. The really weird thing was that as I lay there with only the raspy sound of my breathing filling my ears and with the spongy grass of St. Daniel’s playing fields buoying me up, I could have sworn that I was floating and bobbing on the surface of a vast green ocean. Remind you of anyone?
Go on—call me Ishmael if you like.
After all, as the Big Z would say, I’m da man!
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Ishmael has just run and thrown himself onto a St. Daniel’s sports field after receiving a letter from Kelly, inviting him to a party. When Ishmael says he feels like he’s floating on a green ocean, this is a nod to the closing chapter of Moby-Dick. Moby-Dick ends when the whale Moby Dick crashes into the Pequod, taking Ahab down into the ocean with him and drowning everyone else on the ship—except for Ishmael, the narrator. By using this framing, Ishmael shows that he thinks of himself as a survivor. He’s had a difficult year fighting off Barry’s bullying, conquering 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 debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam doloremque eum. Animi soluta perspiciatis. Ut minima autem. Modi omnis iure. Sint qui qui. Qui similique praesentium. Ex consequatur magnam. Aliquid iste enim. Sequi aut maxime. Adipisci voluptate et. Voluptas suscipit alias. In et eveniet. Eaque et repellendus. Dolores aut voluptatibus. Voluptatem q
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Kelly Faulkner Character Timeline in Don’t Call Me Ishmael
The timeline below shows where the character Kelly Faulkner appears in Don’t Call Me Ishmael. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 22
...High should be useful and informative. Instead, it just humiliates Ishmael further. He first notices Kelly Faulkner in the morning—and Razza notices Ishmael noticing Kelly. At lunch, as Razza and Ishmael...
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...Ishmael is accusing Razza of madness to distract from the fact that he’s been ogling Kelly. Four, Razza says he’s right because he’s the Razzman, the “doctor of luuurve.” Ishmael wants...
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...what’s gotten into Ishmael. Scobie squints and says that Ishmael was too busy staring at Kelly. Razza whoops.
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Chapter 23
...as possible for the rest of the workshop. If he even happens to look in Kelly’s direction, Razza mimes being shot in the chest with an arrow. In bed that night,...
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Ishmael thinks that, during the first session, Kelly was part of a debate presentation. He doesn’t usually notice people’s eyes—but Kelly’s eyes are...
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That night, Ishmael dreams that he and Kelly are friends and go to each other’s houses. It feels so real that when Ishmael...
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One, Razza says Ishmael is in love with Kelly. Two, Ishmael insists this is false—but then he thinks of Kelly’s jeans and her cute...
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Chapter 24
Ishmael decides the best thing to do is to not think about Kelly. He doesn’t have a chance with her, whereas he has a “microscopic” chance of winning...
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Chapter 26
...St. Daniel’s debate team, has a friend in Scobie, Barry isn’t tormenting him anymore, and Kelly Faulkner might even be a possible love interest. Mom and Dad even notice the change,...
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Chapter 28
...with an arrow in its chest. Smirking, Razza nods to the other debate team, which Kelly Faulkner is a part of. Razza passes Ishmael another card that reads, “Hubba, hubba!”
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Chapter 29
The chair calls Kelly to speak first. Razza whispers, “Twang!” in Ishmael’s ear, but Ishmael ignores him. He has...
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As Kelly flicks to a new index card, Ishmael notices how cute her hands are and how...
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Kelly sits down to applause. Scobie pushes index cards with his unreadable notes on them to...
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Chapter 31
The next thing Ishmael knows, his body turns to rubber and he’s falling toward Kelly Faulkner. He comes to in another room, dizzy and surrounded by concerned people. Razza’s mom...
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Chapter 32
...that after Ishmael started to fall forward, his arm went out—and his left hand hit Kelly Faulkner. Ishmael asks if he hurt her, but the other boys just smile. Razza starts...
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...and make jokes. Even Ignatius and Bill laugh. Ishmael knows he has no chance with Kelly now. He’s not only a “wimp” who faints, but he’s a “pervert,” too. Finally, Razza...
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Chapter 33
That night, Ishmael tries to forget that he groped Kelly Faulkner, but it’s impossible. Maybe he’s taking things too seriously and should focus on all...
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Chapter 40
...to pull the blond away. Ishmael finds a quiet spot to drink some soda—and then, Kelly Faulkner walks up and introduces herself. Ishmael is stunned and can barely make words. He...
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Kelly asks about the peg person. Ishmael notes that it was Ringo from the Beatles and...
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Kelly shakes her head and says she’s really here to thank Ishmael for helping her brother,...
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Ishmael says his name is “stupid.” Kelly says it’s interesting, but Ishmael explains that his name comes from the novel Moby-Dick. Ishmael...
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Just as Kelly starts to excuse herself, she stops and points behind Ishmael to where Razza is leaping...
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Ishmael tells Kelly that Razza is actually a superhero, but he has to pretend to be an “idiot”...
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Chapter 41
...Razza insists that because Ishmael “rescued” Marty from Barry, there’s no way Ishmael won’t snag Kelly. Ishmael insists that this is silly—Kelly just wanted to thank him, and she’s just nice....
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That night, Ishmael decides that no matter what Razza says, Kelly will stay in his daydreams. And second, Ishmael decides it’s time to read Moby-Dick. When...
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Chapter 42
...(which he can skip). When Ishmael starts reading, it somehow feels like he’s connected to Kelly.
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Chapter 49
Kelly Faulkner writes that her friend is having a party for her 15th birthday in February....
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