Characters

The most important character in the short story “How the Nurse Feels” by Greg Changnon is the protagonist, Tess Powell.

Her friend Kimberly, her parents, and Tiger’s parents are episodic characters that are relevant for the way Tess relates to them.

Mr. Swick is a secondary character, a drama teacher, concerned with making his students emotionally connect with the roles they are playing, but he is also protective over them when it comes to Tiger’s death.

Although absent from most of the narrative, Tiger De Soto fills an important function in the narrative as his disappearance and subsequent death change Tess. For this reason, we will also add a few points relevant to his characterization.

Tess Powell

Tess is the narrator of the story and the main character. Unlike the other characters, which are flat, Tess is a developing character who changes as a result of Tiger’s disappearance and death.

Inner characterization

The girl’s inner characterization reveals she is frustrated with not being able to relate to her character in a theatre play, the nurse from Romeo and Juliet:

The Nurse is a paid employee; why get so involved? I ask our drama coach this question and Mr. Swick says to me with a squinty, exaggerated theater stare, ‘Think motivation’. I don’t want to tell him that this isn’t helping. (ll. 8-11)

Most of the narrator’s inner traits are revealed in relation to her surroundings, her parents, Tiger, and Tiger’s parents.

Tess is a teenage girl who has fallen in love with a problem boy, Tiger. Although she does not admit to it directly, her attitude over the phone and her memories of Tiger indicate that Tess has developed a passion for the boy: "…all he did was stand there looking at me like no other high school guy. Then his mouth turned into a strange, lazy smile that made me feel like I didn’t need to hide anything." (ll. 41-44); "I listen and wonder who else in this snow is sitting on the phone listening to a guy play music. I hope I’m the only one." (ll. 58-59)

Tess’ relationship with her parents is briefly illustrated when she finds out Tiger is missing. Her father is a reverend and her mother owns a fabric store, and Tess feels trapped by this. She feels her parents and her small-town life confine her dreams:

I want to live in New York City. I want to worry about rent and the smelly man who sits on my doorstep. I want to have three lovers at three different theaters, one suicidal and the other two Caribbean. Instead, I have to sleep in a pink satin bedroom designed by my mother and, during supper, give feedback on my father’s sermons... (ll. 98-103)

The above quote also illustrates Tess dreams of being an actress and becoming independent. This is further indicated in the next quote:

...

Tiger De Soto

Tiger De Soto is a secondary, but important, character for the plot of the story.  His characterization is rendered from the narrator’s subjective perspective.

Outer characterization

His outer characterization presents Tiger as a difficult teenager with blond hair (l. 223), suffering from diabetes (l. 165).

...

Inner characterization

Tiger’s inner characterization reveals him to be a marijuana user and dealer, which indicates he is a rebel teenager: "I hear he’s stoned most of the schoolday and the only reason he’s in drama club is that it’s a condition of his school probation." (ll. 33-35); "The truth is, if Tiger De Soto had the guts to sell marijuana at school, then he had enough guts to take off and start over." (ll. 93-94)

He also has a passion for music and, contrary to Tess’ assumptions, he declares that he wanted to be in the school play:

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