Earl Character Analysis

Earl is Spencer’s righthand man, who helps him exact beatings on the boys at Nickel Academy. When Jaimie, Desmond, Turner, and Elwood fantasize about poisoning one of the staff members, Jaimie insists that it should be Earl. Although the rest of the boys refuse to participate in the plan, Jaimie goes forward with the idea, dropping what he thinks is horse medicine into Earl’s drink at the staff’s holiday luncheon. The result is catastrophic, as Earl spews vomit and blood all over the dining hall before the other staff members drag him away. In the end, his doctor attributes the illness to Earl’s poor health and forbids him to return to work, so Spencer replaces him with Hennepin—an even more vicious sidekick. Jaimie, however, never gets caught or punished for poisoning Earl.