Harris and Me: A Summer Remembered

Harris is the catalyst for most of the major events of the novel. He is the Larsons’s son and is nine years old when the protagonist comes to the farm for the summer. Being the only young boy on the farm, he is eager to meet and play with the protagonist. Harris is outspoken and brash. Harris is full of curiosity and questions. He is always ready to explore the world around him, experiment, plot, and play. The protagonist describes Harris’s imagination as being so vivid that “he believed everything was real” (41). This belief manifests and spreads to the protagonist, who becomes fully absorbed in Harris’s world. Harris invents games, takes the protagonist on adventures, teaches him all about farm life and work on the farm, and successfully gets himself and the protagonist into trouble at every turn. The bond between Harris and the protagonist develops quickly; after their first long day together, the protagonist is willing to follow Harris to the ends of the earth. Within a couple of weeks, they know each other well and can read each other. When the protagonist leaves at the end, Harris chases after his car, visibly distraught. In the epilogue, Harris is already writing to his new friend only weeks after he left.

Harris acts beyond his age in many ways, acting as a mentor for a boy two years older than him. Where once the protagonist thought Harris was simply impulsive, he finds that Harris is intelligent and plans things in a precise way. He is still only nine, however, and many of his plans go awry, leading to lessons learned. Harris is a round character because, although he does not change on a fundamental level, he affects change around him more than any other character. Harris is also a deuteragonist; he supports and impacts the protagonist on his journey of self-discovery and acceptance.

Louie is an elusive character in the novel, especially through the protagonist’s eyes. He does not speak once the entire summer and is incredibly stoic. Louie is not a Larson, but he is “an old bugger who lives [on the farm] and works” (12). The first glimpse of Louie is when he absorbs three full stacks of pancakes in seconds at the protagonist’s first breakfast on the farm. The family is used to Louie’s way and accepts him as he is. Louie helps without question; he is a man of duty. Louie is also dirty and unkempt. About one-third of the way through the novel, the protagonist discovers a new side of Louie. He stumbles upon Louie’s display of miniatures that he crafts and paints.

Louie, like the Larsons, does not show his softer side, but he is artistic and careful with at least one aspect of his life. Louie plays a key role when the protagonist takes revenge on Harris for foiling his date, stealing the dirty pictures that the protagonist promised Harris as part of a deal. Louie’s direct role in the plot of the novel is minimal, but the protagonist has a quiet admiration for Louie. The impact he has on the protagonist in his final days on the farm is monumental. The protagonist discovers Louie has crafted a figure for each family member, including him, and he feels he at last has found acceptance. When the protagonist leaves the farm at the novel’s conclusion, Louie is “nowhere to be seen” (90), implying that he is upset and does not want anyone to witness it.

Knute is the father of the Larson family and the head of the farm. Seeming to have been born with a hoe in his hand, Knute is rarely doing anything but working. The protagonist first meets Knute at their morning breakfast, as he watches him drink his coffee in silence. Much like Louie, Knute does not speak much; “Knute was always like that; always seemed about to say something but never quite got it out” (37). When he does speak, Harris hangs on his father’s words and attention. Knute is quite difficult to penetrate, but his walls break down one afternoon when he hops in the river with the boys and plays with them briefly.

Knute is one of the first indications that the protagonist gets of feeling like part of the family—when the family goes to town for the night, the protagonist is exhausted by the end. Knute carries him and Harris to the truck, and the protagonist reflects on this moment warmly. Knute’s personality traits do not change throughout the novel. However, his bond with the protagonist evolves, much like the other members of the Larson family. 

Clair is the mother of the Larson family and runs the household. The family respects her authority. She is always either cooking, milking, or cleaning, and the protagonist rarely sees her sit down. Clair does not experience any transformation of character, making her a static character; but her bond with the protagonist grows from one of concern to one of love. She becomes the mother the protagonist never had. Clair is dependable, and it is also clear that she has a good sense of humor; she does not discipline the boys for their mischief. Clair only disciplines Harris once throughout the novel when she has “finally had enough” (19) with his foul language. Food is a central motif, representing community, family, and being cared for. Clair’s character is consistently associated with food, making her the representation of unconditional love in the novel.