8Handz Character Analysis in Hag-Seed

One of the prisoners in Felix’s acting troupe, a young and intelligent man arrested for hacking. A genius with technology and special effects, 8Handz becomes Felix’s chief assistant, as well as playing Ariel in the prison’s production of The Tempest. He facilitates the rogue production of The Tempest by setting up clandestine audio and video feeds in the prison and catching Sal and Tony’s drug-induced hysteria on camera. In return, Felix secures his early parole and takes the young man under his wing after he leaves prison. In his ability to create illusions that seem magical and manipulate the actions of other people, 8Handz corresponds to the character Ariel, Prospero’s magical assistant in The Tempest.

8Handz Quotes in Hag-Seed

The Hag-Seed quotes below are all either spoken by 8Handz or refer to 8Handz. 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:

“Colonialism,” says 8Handz, who spent a lot of time on the Internet in his former life as a hacker. “Prospero thinks he’s so awesome and superior, he can put down what other people think.”

Related Characters: (speaker),

Page Number and Citation: 93

Explanation and Analysis:

At first, Felix has difficulty getting his actors excited about The Tempest, which is much different from the political dramas to which they’re accustomed. What’s most notable in their early discussions is the extent to which their interpretation of the play differs from his own. Felix thinks of Prospero, like himself, as a sympathetic character driven by love for his daughter and the desire for revenge. On the contrary, the prisoners see the exiled duke as an oppressor himself and identify primarily with the island’s only native resident, Caliban, whom Prospero has enslaved. With his comment here, 8Handz evokes the long-standing scholarly arguments that The Tempest does indeed reflect contemporary anxieties about colonialism, a new phenomenon when Shakespeare wrote the play. More importantly, it draws an explicit link between Caliban’s treatment within the play and the social oppression, stemming from colonialism, which has shaped many of the prisoners’ own lives. While Felix is at first resistant to this characterization of Prospero, he will eventually prove very supportive of the prisoners’ efforts to give Caliban his own voice and storyline—showing that, while he and Prospero have similar concerns, he doesn’t share the wizard’s primary flaws.

…it’s Ariel who changes Prospero’s mind, from revenge to forgiveness, because despite the crap they did, he feels sorry for the bad guys and what they’re being put through…so we take it that’s okay—to change our own minds.

Related Characters: 8Handz (speaker), Felix Phillips / Mr. Duke

Page Number and Citation: 253

Explanation and Analysis:

8Handz Character Timeline in Hag-Seed

The timeline below shows where the character 8Handz appears in Hag-Seed. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...some roles: WonderBoy, a former con artist, would be a perfect Ferdinand, while the hacker, 8Handz, will make a great Ariel. Bent Pencil, an embezzling accountant, can be Gonzalo, while SnakeEye,... (full context)

Imprisonment and Marginalization Theme Icon

...“earth” and “tortoise,” both considered sacred to many Native Canadian tribes, are used as insults. 8Handz suggests that this is the result of Prospero’s colonialist mindset. Felix says that, in the... (full context)

...important character. In the modern world, he’d be a “special-effects guy” or a “digital expert.” 8Handz says that this is “scurvy cool.” Felix promises that in this production, the actor who... (full context)

...there are seven; there are actually nine, but he wants them to outdo him. When 8Handz asks what counts as a prison, Felix defines it as “any place or situation that... (full context)

...as a brief biography and the criminal record of each actor. He’s given Ariel to 8Handz, a bright young man incarcerated for hacking. 8Handz thinks of himself as a “benevolent Robin... (full context)

...notes assigning crew parts to different actors, based on their skills. For example, he’s placed 8Handz, the talented hacker, in charge of tech and special effects and WonderBoy, who’s good at... (full context)

...into the routine of the class, Felix starts to run through their scenes together until 8Handz appears at the door, looking for something to do. Saying he needs to confer about... (full context)

Once she’s gone, Felix asks 8Handz what he knows about the prison’s surveillance systems; he wants to “see without being seen,”... (full context)

...SnakeEye wants to superimpose their pictures onto the sky during this part of the speech; 8Handz can make them flash on the screen like starts. Shyly, SnakeEye asks if Felix wants... (full context)

...ends up with is slightly small, and he hopes it will stretch enough to fit 8Handz. (full context)

...keyboard finally arrives, and Anne-Marie works on choreography and music in one of the classrooms. 8Handz is busy with the cables and cameras that Felix has procured for him. Felix sets... (full context)

8Handz is already in costume; although he knows his lines perfectly, he is still nervous. He... (full context)

...video, especially with the creepy background music PPod composes and the special effects added by 8Handz. (full context)

...After that, he meets a middle-aged Korean man in the train station; a contact of 8Handz, the man gives Felix a package of pills, some powder, and a hypodermic needle. He... (full context)

...hypodermic needle, is waiting. In full costume, the cast waits for him in the classroom. 8Handz stands by the screen that hides all the technical equipment. The tense atmosphere is familiar... (full context)

...Leggs tells Felix that he’s a genius, but he modestly says that it’s Ariel, or 8Handz, who has facilitated everything. Wishing each other “merde” (the French word for “shit”) instead of... (full context)

Behind the folding screen, Felix bangs the floor with his cane. 8Handz stands with his hand over the Play button, but Felix looks around for Miranda. Suddenly... (full context)

Listening from the other room, Felix eagerly asks 8Handz if he has everything on tape. Tony must have been planning to oust Sal for... (full context)

...turn on. The men don’t know if it’s safe to go outside. From his post, 8Handz cues up a Leonard Cohen song from the speakers in the classroom, and the men... (full context)

Felix asks 8Handz what exactly is in the grapes, and the young man lists off a cocktail of... (full context)

...that they’ve been poisoned. Lonnie, who feels nothing strange, is confused. Watching on the screen, 8Handz cheers but Felix tells him to leave the men to the trip and check on... (full context)

...and Sebert flail their arms, shouting at imaginary demons. Lonnie is hiding behind the table. 8Handz worries that they overdid the drugs, but Felix insists he followed the instructions; still, they... (full context)

Seeing how scared the men are, even 8Handz starts to soften; he asks Felix if he feels sorry for them. In Felix’s ear,... (full context)

Felix and 8Handz gather up all the speakers and videos they’ve distributed across the rooms. As 8Handz reviews... (full context)

However, 8Handz corrects him: the voice is singing the children’s rhyme “merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is... (full context)

Clearly anxious, 8Handz stands to present Ariel’s report, acknowledging his other team mates. At the beginning of the... (full context)

As the cast party is drawing to a close, 8Handz reminds Felix about the ninth prison, the one they couldn’t identify before. Felix explains that... (full context)

Felix has accepted the offer but stipulated that 8Handz come as well. He’s finally been granted parole, and Felix wants to keep an eye... (full context)

8Handz Character Analysis

8Handz Quotes in Hag-Seed

Chapter 14 Quotes

Chapter 41 Quotes

8Handz Character Timeline in Hag-Seed