Red Kayak

Though Brady introduces him as the jokester of their friend group, J.T.'s fun-loving exterior actually hides a troubled personal life; J.T.'s father is chronically ill due to a kidney condition, and J.T. himself has been a persistent target of bullies due to his shyness, physical awkwardness, and unusual interests such as electronics. J.T. also seems to be under pressure to take over the family business in chicken farming despite having no real desire to do so.

What Brady at first terms J.T.'s "easygoing" nature, then, looks more and more like insecurity as the story progresses (7).J.T.'s reluctance to defend himself from Digger's tauntsmakes Brady uncomfortable, and foreshadows his inability to resist when Digger asks him to help drill holes in the kayak.Although this does not excuse his actions, it does make J.T. a more sympathetic character. In the aftermath of Ben's death, J.T's fidgety demeanor around Brady makes it clear he feels guilty for the part he played, and at the trial he talks about knowing he will have to "answer to the Lord" for what he's done (201). All in all, J.T.'s eagerness to reestablish his friendship with Brady and his desire to donate a kidney to his father paint a picture of a kind, sensitive boy who made a mistake.

Digger, Brady's other best friend, has probably had the most difficult life of the three boys. Mr. Griswald drinks heavily and physically abuses his wife and children, causing Mrs. Griswald to frequently leave with her children, only to later return. As a result of the chaos at home, Digger spends a lot of time taking care of his younger brother and sister, while lacking any positive role model himself; Digger's only real adult support was his grandfather, who recently moved to a nursing home. This, in turn, makes the fact that the DiAngelos purchased and tore down his grandfather's house particularly difficult for Digger to stomach. As he says at the trial, he sees the destruction of the farmhouse not only as an insult to his family but also as a threat to one of his few sources of happiness.

Throughout the novel, it is clear that Digger has something of a mean streak; he pushes his friend J.T. around and (of course) drills holes in the DiAngelos' kayak. What's more, he seems largely unconcerned with the consequences of his actions after Ben's death, instead pressuring Brady to get rid of incriminating evidence. Nevertheless, Cummings suggests that Digger's actions have more to do with being hardened to violence than outright cruelty. The role Digger once played in saving Brady's life shows that he can be selfless and heroic in a crisis, and his statement at his trial indicates that he does ultimately come to appreciate the harm his actions have caused.

Brady's father is a crabber and part-time carpenterwhose business has taken a hit as a result of environmental damage to the river and bay. Consequently, he is rather suspicious of both change and anything that strikes him as high-classor extravagant; he complains, for instance, about having dinner with the DiAngelos, saying that he won't know "which durn fork to use" (82). When push comes to shove, however, he is a thoughtful person capable of seeing beyond his own interests—most notably, when he cuts back on his own fishing for the good of the bay.

Mr. Parks' gruff and often silent demeanor can make him a difficult conversationalist, and Brady sometimes finds himself struggling to open up to his father about what's worrying him. As he himself says, though, his love for his family "runs deep," and when he does speak, his words tend to be wise (186). It is not surprising, then, that he is the first person with whomBrady sharesthe true story of the kayak.

Brady's mother works at a nursing home when she's not looking after her husband and child. Although she is a caring wife and mother, it is clear that the death of her daughter Amanda continues to haunt her; she blamed herself for the death, and even left her family for a while in her grief. Since then, things have more or less returned to normal, but the difficulty Mrs. Parks has talking about her daughter causes some tension in her relationship with Brady, who resents his mother for packing away Amanda's things. However, Mrs. Parks' efforts to help Mrs. DiAngelo process Ben's death seem to help her work through her own loss, and by the time The Red Kayak ends, she and Brady have cleared the air between them.

The DiAngelos are a wealthy family who recently bought the property Digger's grandfather used to live on. We don't know very much about Marcellus DiAngelo, because he (temporarily) leaves his wife in the wake of their son Ben's death. His response to finding Brady, Digger, and J.T. on his property suggests that he can be a bit high-handed; he is curt with the boys, and ignores Brady's apology. On the whole, however, he seems to be a good-hearted man.

Gina DiAngelo takes a more central role in the novel's events. Although devastated by the loss of her son, she is consistently kind and generous to Brady, paying him well for the yard work he does at her house and enthusiastically seizing on his idea of planting a butterfly garden. Her discovery that she's pregnant gives her new hope for the future, and though she and her husband move away at the end of the novel, they do so more to make a fresh start than because of any ill will toward Brady.

Ben—the toddler son of the DiAngelos—is less important to The Red Kayak as a character than as a symbol. Both his very young age and his angelic appearance give him an air of innocence, and the little we know of his personality suggests that he is exceptionally sweet and good-natured; while watching The Lion King with Brady, he expresses sympathy and understanding even for the movie's villain. His death, then, underscores the extreme destructiveness of Digger and J.T.'s anger and thoughtlessness.