Mr. Goodall is Elwood’s teacher at Nickel Academy. Providing a stark contrast to Elwood’s previous teachers, Mr. Goodall is apathetic when it comes to teaching, not caring that none of his students pay attention in class. When Elwood asks if he can have harder classes, Mr. Goodall promises to look into the matter but never actually acts on this promise. In retrospect, Elwood wonders if Goodall told Spencer that he wanted harder classes, thinking that Spencer may have beat him especially hard during his first visit to the White House because he heard that Elwood was acting above his “station” by asking for challenging work.
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Mr. Goodall Character Timeline in The Nickel Boys
The timeline below shows where the character Mr. Goodall appears in The Nickel Boys. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter Four
...classes before he was sent to Nickel, but Blakely only tells him to speak to Mr. Goodall —the teacher—about the matter.
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Chapter Five
In class that day, Elwood is astounded to see that the textbooks Mr. Goodall hands out are ones he used in the first grade. Throughout the class period, the...
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Chapter Eight
...release from the infirmary, he resumes his work on the yard crew. He also approaches Mr. Goodall and asks once more for challenging coursework. Mr. Goodall enthusiastically agrees, but Elwood understands that...
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