Characterization of Rafael

Outer characterization

Rafael, the main character of “a strong dead man” by Daniel Alarcón, is a 16-year-old Dominican-American boy (l. 13) who lives in New York with his mother, father, and sister (l. 112). He has many relatives but seems closer to his cousin, Mario, who is older than him. Until the eighth grade, Rafael played baseball in the Little League (l. 105). Rafael’s outer characterization is not detailed, highlighting the fact that the story mainly deals with his inner conflict created by his father’s illness and death, and by two incidents involving dead bodies.

Inner characterization

Rafael’s inner characterization is constructed through his thoughts, his language, and through the narrator’s words. The story partially deals with what Rafael experienced when he was 12 years old, conveying specific character traits for that period in his life. At that age, Rafael just moved to a new school (l. 57) and found it difficult to make friends: “Friends had never been easy.” (ll. 58-59). This suggests that, as a child, Rafael was shy. However, he managed to ...