Rascal Character Analysis

Sterling

Sterling North is an 11-year-old boy living in small-town Wisconsin in 1918. He lives with just his father, as his mother died four years ago and his older siblings have left home. His father… read analysis of Sterling

Rascal

Rascal is a raccoon whom Sterling finds as a newborn cub and takes home with him, raising him for nearly a full year. Rascal immediately impresses Sterling and most others who meet him as charming… read analysis of Rascal

Father

Sterling’s father is a real-estate speculator and, as a hobby, an unsuccessful novelist. A somewhat distant figure, he’s very hands-off in his parenting and essentially trusts Sterling to do whatever he likes. With Sterling’s… read analysis of Father

Mother

Sterling’s mother died four years before the memoir begins, when Sterling was seven. Her death forced Sterling to mature more quickly than he otherwise might have, but his eccentric manner of collecting unusual pets… read analysis of Mother

Theo

Theo is one of Sterling’s older sisters. When she comes home to visit, she’s appalled by the disorder in the house and insists on hiring a housekeeper to keep her father and brother in… read analysis of Theo

Jessica

Jessica is one of Sterling’s older sisters. She cared for him in the wake of their mother’s death, but then she went off to the University of Chicago to pursue graduate work in… read analysis of Jessica

Herschel

Herschel is Sterling’s older brother, who’s over in France fighting in World War I. His letter are censored by the military, so Sterling doesn’t know much about what’s going on with him, and he… read analysis of Herschel

Bert Bruce

Bert Bruce is a retiree whose cabin Sterling and Rascal stumble onto in the woods around Lake Superior. He kindly takes them in and shows them his fishing flies. He explains that he had to… read analysis of Bert Bruce

Fred

Fred is Sterling’s father’s brother. He runs a farm with his wife Lillie and four sons, all of whom work tirelessly every day. Fred is voluble and somewhat crass, taking Lillie for granted… read analysis of Fred

Lillie

Lillie is Sterling’s aunt and Fred’s wife, a selfless and tireless domestic servant to her husband and four sons, who somewhat take her for granted. Sterling recognizes her incredible effort and makes a… read analysis of Lillie

Minor Characters

Wowser

Wowser is Sterling’s dog, a hulking St. Bernard who’s nonviolent by disposition but willing to enter fights to protect his master—fights he usually wins with ease, thanks to his enormous size. He’s as loyal to Rascal as he is to Sterling, keeping him safe when he’s just a cub.

Oscar

Oscar Sunderland is Sterling’s good friend. He’s with Sterling when they first find Rascal, and much later on, they spend the day at the fair together.

Herman

Herman Sunderland is Oscar’s father, a Swiss-German immigrant and a bitter, tyrannical father.

Oscar’s Mother

Oscar Sunderland’s mother is a Norwegian immigrant, much kinder than his father Herman and gentler on Oscar. She shows the boys how to nurse Rascal when they first find him.

Mike Conway

Mike Conway is Sterling’s neighbor and a noted horse breeder. He challenges Reverend Thurman to a race—Conway on his racehorse Donnybrook versus Thurman in his automobile (which Conway detests). Conway triumphantly defeats Thurman at a local fair.

Reverend Thurman

Reverend Thurman is Sterling’s neighbor and a cruel, inhospitable man. He repeatedly threatens to kill Rascal if he finds him on his property. He gets his comeuppance, however, when Mike Conway’s horse beats his automobile in a race.

Miss Whalen

Miss Whalen is Sterling’s biology teacher, whom he admires for her enthusiasm and open-mindedness. She has a fondness for Sterling, and their relationship seems to fill some of the void left by his mother’s death. She sticks up for him in the biting incident with Slammy Stillman.

Poe

Poe the Crow is a crow Sterling tends to, somewhere between a wild creature and a pet. His irreverent squawking humorously disrupts services in the church above which he lives. On one occasion, Poe and Rascal get in a tussle over some shiny coins.

Slammy Stillman

Slammy Stillman is a school bully, one of the few people Sterling doesn’t get along with. When Sterling brings Rascal into school for a presentation, Slammy tries to frame Rascal for biting him, but Miss Whalen sees through his ploy.

Mrs. Quinn

Mrs. Quinn is the housekeeper whom Sterling’s sisters finally succeed in hiring for their father’s home. Stern and intolerant of pets, her arrival accelerates Sterling’s decision to let Rascal go free.

Garth Shadwick

Garth Shadwick is a talented metalworker and leatherworker who agrees to make Sterling a leash and buckle for Rascal, although he sympathizes with the boy’s anger at his neighbors for making him do it. He kindly gives Sterling the items for a discount.

Rascal Characters