Pony

Pa, or Martin Bird, is Silas’s father. He’s multitalented, kind, and widely regarded as a genius. He’s a bootmaker by trade but also creates a new type of photography process, irontypes, for which he obtains a patent and gains local acclaim. Despite being a genius, Pa does not have a lot of money, in part because he was raised working class and lost his parents at a young age, and upward mobility is difficult under such circumstances. Pa also does not care about becoming wealthy; he has invented several wonders, including light bulbs, but he made these things to delight his beloved wife, not to make extra money. After his wife’s death in childbirth, Pa’s focus is solely on Silas. He goes to great lengths to protect Silas from the world’s horrors, even becoming Silas’s teacher when the local teacher bullies Silas for speaking to ghosts.

Pa develops The Journey of Self-Discovery and Personal Growth because he has a secret identity from the past. While keeping his former identity secret may seem dishonest and unfair to Silas, it is meant to benefit his family. Instead of continuing his life as the notorious counterfeiter Mac Boat, Pa renounces his old criminal ways and resolves to live an honest life for his family’s sake. When Pa is taken by Ollerenshaw’s men and forced to rejoin the counterfeiting business, Silas finds out about Pa’s past. However, this revelation does not negate the efforts Pa made to become a better person as a father. Pa only helps the counterfeiters who capture him because he wants to keep Silas safe; this sacrifice demonstrates his commitment to parenthood. When Silas later discovers Pa’s long-lost buried treasure, he uses it in a way that would make Pa proud by creating a school for orphaned children. As Silas and Mittenwool reflect about Pa, “Whatever else he may have been, he was a good father” (269). Pa’s past mistakes do not prevent him from becoming the best father he can be, and this dynamic shows that it is always possible to embrace a journey of self-discovery, no matter what mistakes lie in the past.

Mama, or Elsa Bird (née Morrow), is Silas’s mother. During her lifetime, she was kind, loving, and dedicated. Although she died giving birth to Silas, Palacio states in her Afterword, “This is a book that is completely driven by a woman. A mother. She is the central character, off the page, connecting and propelling and protecting from afar within the limits of what she can do, which are unknowable” (285). Although Mama does not appear to Silas as a ghost, he still draws inspiration from her memory, and so does Pa. In this way, her influence continues to live on even after death.

For a long time, Silas struggles because he is offended that Mama did not become a ghost to stay with him; however, he eventually realizes that although he cannot see or speak to her, she is still “present” in her own way. It is implied that she is still arranging coincidences and looking after Silas from the afterlife. For example, the fact that Mittenwool acts as Silas’s guardian is implied to be her doing. Also, when Silas goes to live with Desimonde and Jenny, who Mama knew as a child, this is implied to be her doing as well. Since Mama can’t be physically present to look after Silas herself, she indirectly enlists the help of others to ensure that her son is always taken care of. Mama therefore develops The Impact of Love and Loss, illustrating the fact that death and loss do not negate love.

Mittenwool is Silas’s ghostly companion. He has been around since Silas was a baby. Although Silas can see and speak to him, most others (including Pa) cannot. Mittenwool is 16, and he remains that age even as Silas grows older because that’s how old Mittenwool was when he died. Mittenwool acts like a sidekick to Silas and is almost always present throughout Silas’s childhood. He also helps Silas in his missions and endeavors to keep Silas safe. Although Mittenwool is not biologically related to Silas, he takes on the role of an older sibling or stand-in parental figure. Mittenwool is kind, responsible, and cautious, warning Silas about dangers and offering comfort whenever Silas is upset. Mittenwool complicates The Tangible Effects of the Supernatural because even though he is a ghost, he is one of the most important people in Silas’s life, and Silas argues that Mittenwool is just as real as any living person or animal.

Because Mittenwool has few solid answers to Silas’s more existential questions, his lack of definitive insights illustrates the fact that both life and death are full of mysteries. As a young child, Silas expects Mittenwool to know all the answers about why he is a ghost while other dead people are not. However, Mittenwool initially knows almost none of these things, illustrating that his nature is a mystery even to himself. However, over time, Silas and Mittenwool solve some of these mysteries, discovering who Mittenwool was in life, how he died, and why he is attached to Silas. Mittenwool watches over Silas out of affection for Silas’s mother, who attempted to save Mittenwool’s life, thereby touching Mittenwool’s heart. Mittenwool’s connection to Silas develops The Impact of Love and Loss because although Silas lost his mother, Mittenwool takes on the task of looking after Silas in her place.

Mittenwool also helps develop The Journey of Self-Discovery and Personal Growth, as although he is a ghost, his journey is parallel to Silas’s. Whereas Silas comes of age and grows older, Mittenwool remains 16, but he still undergoes significant moments of self-discovery and transformation. Mittenwool’s self-discovery is unique because, unlike Silas, who must define himself for the first time, Mittenwool must remember who he was in life in order to discover what his purpose as a ghost has been. Once he learns this, he is finally able to process his death and gain closure. Just as Mittenwool helps to raise Silas to grow into a good man, so too does Silas help Mittenwool rediscover who he is. Silas and Mittenwool’s journeys of self-discovery and personal growth are therefore collaborative, but ultimately, they separate from each other because the next stages in their journeys must be undergone independently.

Roscoe Ollerenshaw is the leader of a counterfeiting ring; he is the novel’s main villain or antagonist. In addition to printing counterfeit money, Ollerenshaw has committed numerous murders, and he sends his minions to capture Pa and threaten him into rejoining the counterfeiting business. Although Ollerenshaw is not the one who captures Pa, he is the primary villain and the ringleader of the operation. He also kills Pa during the climax of the novel. Ollerenshaw is greedy, dishonest, and cruel; even after he is captured, he attempts to taunt and frighten Silas even though he has nothing to gain from doing so. Ollerenshaw and his minions set the plot in motion by capturing Pa, and although he eventually dies, the villains never really “win” because they are all captured or killed. Ollerenshaw provides Silas with opportunities for reflection and personal growth, but Ollerenshaw himself does not experience growth or redemption; instead, he remains a flat character.

Rufe Jones is one of Ollerenshaw’s employees and sidekicks, and as such, he is a secondary villain. Jones is one of the three men who appears at Silas’s house to forcefully take Pa. Jones may not be as needlessly cruel as Ollerenshaw, but like his boss, he is dishonest, greedy, and willing to compromise any morals he may have once had in order to make money or save himself. Like Ollerenshaw, Jones does not experience any redemption or significant development. Although he provides the police with information about the counterfeiting ring, he only does so to lessen his own time in prison.

Seb and Eben Morton are twin brothers of approximately 18 years of age. They also work for Ollerenshaw, but unlike the other villains, the Mortons do exhibit growth and cease to be villains by the end of the novel. They are enthusiastic and physically capable, but they are naive and do not fully understand the legal implications of the counterfeiting ring. Jones and Ollerenshaw manipulated the Mortons into joining the counterfeiting operation. Far from being evil geniuses, the twins are naïve and easily taken advantage of by criminal minds like Ollerenshaw. Because Sheriff Chalfont is merciful and empathetic, he lets the twins go, believing that they will be too scared from their near brush with prison to try any criminal activities again. Originally, the brothers wanted to open a candy store, and although their fate is not certain, it is implied that a legitimate, simple business would far better suit their personalities.

Pony is a pony who originally belongs to Roscoe Ollerenshaw but changes his allegiances and becomes Silas’s companion instead. Pony is unusually fast and agile, with an incredible sense of direction. He also has a near-human degree of emotional intelligence and empathy, along with psychic abilities and other implicitly magical qualities. For example, Pony miraculously returns to Silas alone, finds the entrance to the woods, leads Silas to Marshal Enoch Farmer, and creates a potentially life-saving diversion during the final fight between the police and the counterfeiters. Pony also highlights The Tangible Effects of the Supernatural because although Pony is not a ghost, he has supernatural or magical abilities.

Pony also offers Silas great comfort during his journey through the frightening woods and especially after Pa’s death, highlighting The Impact of Love and Loss. At times, Silas needs comfort in the form of physical contact, and Pony provides this by affectionately nuzzling Silas, sensing his need for contact the way an empathetic human might. Pony illustrates how love and friendship can thrive between humans and animals. Pony becomes a long-term companion to Silas, remaining with him during his adolescent years with the Chalfonts and traveling with him to Maine for college.

Farmer is an older US Marshal whom Silas meets in the woods, seemingly because Pony intuitively knew to bring Silas to Farmer. Coincidentally, Farmer is pursuing the same group of outlaws who took Silas’s father, so the two team up and seek the men together. Farmer acts as a donor character because he helps Silas to achieve his goal of locating Pa. He also acts as a mentor because he teaches Silas how to build fires, track people’s trails, and survive in the wilderness. Farmer is straightforward, businesslike, no-nonsense, and somewhat rude. However, Farmer is ultimately helpful because he ensures Silas’s survival, teaches him new skills, guides him to Pa, and even takes a bullet that was meant for Pa.

A plot twist involving Farmer’s character helps develop The Tangible Effects of the Supernatural. Because Farmer is a businesslike, no-nonsense character, he does not believe in ghosts and cannot see them. He even gets angry whenever Silas mentions them. This scene is particularly ironic because Farmer is actually a ghost himself, even though he is unaware of the fact. Silas also remains unaware of Farmer’s ghostly status despite the narrative’s several pointed hints. At the end of the novel, he discovers that Farmer died several years before he met him. Farmer undeniably helps Silas, but Silas also helps Farmer because their collaborative mission allows Farmer to gain closure regarding his vendetta against Ollerenshaw. (Ollerenshaw killed Farmer’s partner, and Farmer himself, years before the novel’s main events, and Farmer is determined to find Ollerenshaw and avenge his partner.) Although Farmer isn’t the one to capture and imprison Ollerenshaw, Farmer takes a bullet for Pa, temporarily delaying his death. Feeling that he has saved one of Ollerenshaw’s victims, Farmer is able to pass on peacefully and no longer remains a ghost.

Chalfont is the young sheriff of Rosasharon, a town near the woods where Silas and Marshal Enoch Farmer discover the counterfeiting operation of Roscoe Ollerenshaw and others. Chalfont is smart, capable, brave, patient, and kind. Because of these qualities, Silas initially likes and trusts Chalfont more than his counterpart, Deputy Jack Beautyman. Although Chalfont’s main concern is to capture the criminals, he is also deeply concerned with Silas’s comfort and well-being. Chalfont acts as a donor character because he helps Silas on his mission to find Farmer and Pa and capture the counterfeiters.

Chalfont is also a mentor character because he takes Silas under his wing and cares for him after Pa dies. Even though Chalfont likely realizes that Pa is Mac Boat, he does not push this issue or allow it to be printed in the newspaper, illustrating his concern for Silas. Chalfont therefore saves Silas from potential unwanted attention and public ridicule. Chalfont and his wife, Jenny, unofficially adopt Silas, and he lives with them for six years as part of their family until he leaves the state for college. Chalfont helps illustrate the importance of found family. Even though he is not related to Silas through the traditional rules of kinship, the two forge a deep connection rooted in love and mutual respect. Their relationship is symbiotic because Chalfont helps Silas survive and thrive through his coming-of-age journey, and Silas helps Chalfont to process his sister’s death and even delivers a message from her ghost, allowing her to move on to the afterlife.