Pete Wishart Character Analysis in Jasper Jones

Laura and Eliza’s father. Pete Wishart is an alcoholic, abusive man who nonetheless serves as the president of the shire (county) that contains the town of Corrigan. Wishart is skilled at hiding his cruelty and abusiveness from others, even after he rapes and impregnates his own daughter. By the end of the novel, Pete’s crimes remain unknown to the public, though Eliza has taken her own revenge on him.

Pete Wishart Quotes in Jasper Jones

The Jasper Jones quotes below are all either spoken by Pete Wishart or refer to Pete Wishart. 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 Ember edition of Jasper Jones published in 2012.

I also have a suspicion that Eliza might be less concerned with what’s right, less concerned about uncovering the truth, than she is about ensuring that she and Jasper Jones, and maybe her father, too, are meted out the penance that she feels they each deserve. I think she wants to do something with all this blame and hurt. I think she just wants to tie rocks to all their feet.

Related Characters: Charlie Bucktin (speaker), Jasper Jones, Eliza Wishart, Pete Wishart

Page Number and Citation: 282

Explanation and Analysis:

Pete Wishart Character Timeline in Jasper Jones

The timeline below shows where the character Pete Wishart appears in Jasper Jones. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...that her sister is missing. She adds that her mother can’t stop crying, and that her father is drinking and yelling. Charlie notes that Eliza is very calm as she explains this,... (full context)

...immediately yells at her for leaving the house without permission. Eliza insists that she asked her father if she could leave, and pretends that Charlie bought her the copy of Breakfast at... (full context)

...making up for the fact that they’ve found no evidence. Jasper also tells Charlie that Laura’s father , the president of the shire (the rough equivalent of a country in the United... (full context)

...shirt, and Charlie compliments her dress. Then, unexpectedly, Eliza mentions Laura. She tells Charlie that her father acts like Laura never existed. She begins to cry, and Charlie, after much thought, gives... (full context)

...they usually do. In the car, Wesley congratulates Jeffrey and mentions that he ran into Pete Wishart , Eliza’s father, who was drunk, but had seen Jeffrey play and was eager to... (full context)

...else either. Later, when Eliza found Laura’s letter to Jasper, Eliza discovered something: Laura and Eliza’s father , the shire president, would drunkenly abuse Laura, and had done so since Laura was... (full context)

...for the first time, Eliza tells Charlie, there had been an argument in Eliza’s house. Eliza’s father was drunkenly yelling at Laura. Eliza’s mother was calm and oblivious, as usual, and Eliza... (full context)

After Eliza saw her father driving away, she heard her sister crying and walking out of the house. Eliza didn’t... (full context)

By reading Laura’s letter, Eliza learned why she’d been arguing with her father the night she killed herself. Pete Wishart had raped Laura many times—now, she was in... (full context)

...the clearing, Laura wouldn’t have hanged herself. Charlie insists that this isn’t the truth—it is her father who is responsible. He apologizes to Eliza for moving Laura’s body. Eliza says that she... (full context)

...Eliza why she didn’t come forward with Laura’s letter, and if she was afraid of her father . Eliza says nothing, which Charlie takes as proof that she was. Charlie starts to... (full context)

...will do with their information about Laura. They could keep silent, thereby saving Eliza from her father ’s anger. But even if they say nothing, Charlie thinks, it’s possible that the information... (full context)

...Charlie that Jasper is right. She says that she’s going to tell “everyone” about what her father did to Laura, and how Laura died. Charlie tells Eliza that this is impossible: if... (full context)

...the way, a car pulls up by them, and a man asks Eliza if she’s Pete Wishart ’s daughter. Eliza shakes her head, and the man drives on. Only a few minutes... (full context)

...sat in silence for hours until they let her go. A few weeks later, when her father is out of the house for work, she gives her mother Laura’s letter and tells... (full context)

...Eliza sitting outside the house, completely unharmed. Charlie also sees Eliza’s mother, also unharmed, and her father , in an oxygen mask and bandages, but still alive. (full context)