Characters

The main character in the short story “Nairobi” by Joyce Carol Oates is Ginny. The story is mostly focused on her internal conflict, in reaction to the events taking place. This is shown by the fact that, even though Oliver’s plan turns out to be successful, and he praises her role in it, the ending is focused on Ginny’s sense of disappointment and loss.

The other characters are Oliver Leahy and the couple he takes Ginny to meet, Marguerite and Herbert Crews. All the interactions between the characters are seen through Ginny’s point of view. For this reason, we know very little about the other characters and have no information regarding the reason why Oliver enlists Ginny to be his upper-class girlfriend.

You can read a more detailed analysis of Ginny in the following pages.