Where the Crawdads Sing Character Analysis

Kya (Catherine Danielle Clark)

The protagonist of Where the Crawdads Sing, Kya is a six-year-old girl at the outset of the novel. A curious and adventurous person, she lives in the North Carolina marshlands in a run-down shack… read analysis of Kya (Catherine Danielle Clark)

Tate

Tate is from Barkley Cove, and is Kya’s primary romantic interest. As a boy, Tate fishes with Jodie and interacts with Kya, though Kya is too young to remember this. For this reason, she’s… read analysis of Tate

Chase Andrews

Chase Andrews is a widely beloved young man who lives in Barkley Cove. Known in town as one the best former quarterbacks the area has ever seen, Chase is confident and popular. When Chase sees… read analysis of Chase Andrews

Ma (Kya’s Mother)

Kya’s mother, whom she calls Ma, is a middle-aged woman from New Orleans who at the outset of the novel lives in the marshlands of North Carolina with her husband and five children. When… read analysis of Ma (Kya’s Mother)

Jodie

Jodie is Kya’s brother, and is the closest to her in age of all their siblings. When Ma leaves, he tries to make her feel better by insisting that she’ll return, pointing out that… read analysis of Jodie

Pa (Kya’s Father)

An angry man with a drinking problem, Pa is Kya’s abusive father. Pa served in the trenches of World War II, sustaining an injury and receiving an honorable discharge, though he’s the only one… read analysis of Pa (Kya’s Father)

Jumpin’

Jumpin’ is a kindhearted man who owns a gas dock and bait shop that sits between Kya’s area of the marsh and Barkley Cove. Although Kya is white and Jumpin’ is black—and although they… read analysis of Jumpin’

Mabel

Mabel is Jumpin’s wife, and Kya’s only female role model. When Kya tries to sell a bucket of disgusting smoked fish to Jumpin’, Mabel tells Jumpin’ to claim that somebody in their community… read analysis of Mabel

Sheriff Ed Jackson

Ed Jackson is the sheriff in Barkley Cove. When Benji Mason and Steve Long find Chase Andrews’s dead body near the fire tower, they visit Ed and tell him the news before taking him… read analysis of Sheriff Ed Jackson

Miss Pansy Price

Miss Pansy Price is a woman who lives in the town of Barkley Cove. When Kya is a child, she hears Miss Pansy Price refer to her as “swamp trash.” Despite this insensitivity, though, Miss… read analysis of Miss Pansy Price

Mrs. Singletary

Mrs. Singletary is the cashier at a store called the Piggly Wiggly in Barkley Cove. When Kya starts coming into town to buy grits after Ma leaves, Mrs. Singletary takes an interest in her, asking… read analysis of Mrs. Singletary

Amanda Hamilton

Amanda Hamilton is a writer who publishes poems in Barkley Cove’s local newspaper. Throughout her life, Kya recites Amanda’s verses, which are usually about love, nature, freedom, or independence. Shortly after Kya dies, Tate discovers… read analysis of Amanda Hamilton

Mrs. Culpepper

Mrs. Culpepper is a truancy officer in Barkley Cove who makes frequent visits to Kya’s shack in order to take her to school. Shortly after Ma leaves, Kya agrees to get into Mrs. Culpepper’s… read analysis of Mrs. Culpepper

Hal Miller

Hal Miller is a shrimper in Barkley Cove who claims to have seen Kya on the night of Chase Andrews’s murder. Hal testifies that he was on his way back to shore that night… read analysis of Hal Miller

Scupper

Scupper is Tate’s father. A fisherman who lost his wife and daughter in a car accident, Scupper has a kind, gentle soul and an appreciation of life that he makes sure to instill in… read analysis of Scupper

Robert Foster

Robert Foster is Kya’s editor, who helps her publish seven books about wildlife in the North Carolina swamplands. Robert is also an important witness in Kya’s trial, since he testifies that he was with… read analysis of Robert Foster

Rodney Horn

Rodney Horn is a local fisherman who watches an argument play out between Chase Andrews and Kya in a place called Cypress Cove. He later testifies in court that he heard a woman yelling and… read analysis of Rodney Horn

Judge Sims

Judge Sims is the judge who presides over Kya’s trial for the murder of Chase Andrews. A fair man, Judge Sims tries to make sure that the jury isn’t biased because of Kya’s… read analysis of Judge Sims

Sunday Justice

Sunday Justice is a cat that lives in the courthouse. One day, he sneaks into the block of cells and finds his way into Kya’s lap. For the first time in months, Kya finds… read analysis of Sunday Justice

Dr. Steward Cone

Dr. Steward Cone is the coroner who examines Chase Andrews’s dead body. While answering Tom Milton’s questions, Dr. Cone says that the red fibers found on Chase’s jacket—fibers that are made of the… read analysis of Dr. Steward Cone

Tim O’Neal

Tim O’Neal is a shrimper who was coming ashore on the night of Chase Andrews’s murder. During Kya’s trial, Tim testifies that his employee, Hal Miller, is mistaken when he says that… read analysis of Tim O’Neal

Tom Milton

Tom Milton is the lawyer who represents Kya when she’s on trial for Chase ’s murder. A considerate, levelheaded man, he comes out of retirement to be her lawyer, wanting to advocate for her because… read analysis of Tom Milton

Minor Characters

Eric Chastain

Eric Chastain is the state prosecutor who argues in court that Kya is guilty of murdering Chase Andrews.

Benji Mason

Benji Mason is a young boy from Barkley Cove who finds Chase Andrews’s dead body when he and his friend Steve Long visit the fire tower.

Steve Long

Steve Long is a young boy from Barkley Cove who finds Chase Andrews’s dead body when he and his friend Benji Mason visit the fire tower.

Deputy Joe Purdue

Joe Purdue is a deputy police officer in Barkley Cove. Working alongside Sheriff Ed Jackson, he investigates the circumstances surrounding Chase Andrews’s death, eventually playing a part in Kya’s arrest as a murder suspect.

Dr. Vern Murphy

Dr. Vern Murphy is a doctor in Barkley Cove. Sheriff Ed Jackson brings him along when he first goes to see Chase Andrews’s dead body, and he speculates that Chase has been dead for roughly 10 hours.

Patti Love

Chase Andrews’s mother, who suspects that Kya is responsible for the murder of her son.

Jacob

Jacob is the guard at the courthouse jail, where Kya spends several months awaiting trial. A sympathetic man, he starts intentionally letting the courthouse cat, Sunday Justice, into the cells because Kya tells him she likes the animal’s company.

Lang Furlough

The owner of the Three Mountains Motel in Greenville, North Carolina, Lang Furlough testifies that Kya stayed at his establishment on the night of Chase Andrews’s murder.

Pearl

Pearl is a woman who lives in Barkley Cove. When Kya is still in a relationship with Chase, she discovers that he’s engaged to be married to Pearl, so she stops seeing him. Chase ends up marrying Pearl, but he continues to have affairs with other women in town.