The Great Gilly Hopkins

Maime Trotter is Gilly’s foster mother in Thompson Park, Maryland. She also fosters William Ernest Teague. She is a kind, nurturing, and religious woman. Miss Ellis describes Maime Trotter as one of their “most capable” (93) foster parents and she has been fostering children for twenty years. She frequently uses silly idioms and seems eccentric because she doesn’t care about appearances. She loves her foster children fiercely and teaches them to be compassionate toward others, but she is no push-over and will stand up for what she believes is right.

Gilly’s first impression of Maime Trotter is that she has a body like a “Before” body in an advertisement for a diet, but an “After smile” (5). Maime Trotter is not focused on appearances at all, showing that she values deeper things. Her home is not particularly clean, and she does not have very much money. However, she is a wonderful cook, and Gilly cannot resist her chocolate chip cookies.

Maime Trotter shows her patient nature in how she treats Gilly. Gilly does several rude things, including stealing money from her, but Maime Trotter gives Gilly chances to do the right thing and redeem herself. Maime Trotter is empathetic and shows her love for others by giving her time and attention. She has Mr. Randolph over for dinner every night, and she cares deeply for William Ernest (the angriest she ever gets at Gilly is when Gilly makes fun of him). Though Maime Trotter speaks like a simple person and frequently says that she wishes she were as intelligent as Gilly, she shows her wisdom when she and Gilly speak on the phone after Gilly is heartbroken by her biological mother. She tells Gilly that the myth of a happy ending is a lie, and that life only ends in death, but we should still embrace life because there is nothing more rewarding than being a good person.

William Ernest Teague is the younger child in Maime Trotter’s home. William Ernest is sweet, fearful, and naïve, but he is smarter than he looks. He has large glasses and is frail and terrified of Gilly at the beginning of the novel. However, by the end of the novel, he becomes much more confident. This is thanks to Gilly helping him with his reading and teaching him how to defend himself against bullies at school.

Gilly thinks that William Ernest is intellectually disabled, but when she tutors him, Gilly realizes that William Ernest is terrified of making a mistake because he fears being hit. Though the author never explicitly states this, it is implied that he was physically abused in the past and this is why he is so scared of strangers. Maime Trotter loves William Ernest and will do anything to ensure his well-being. Maime Trotter says that William Ernest has had a “rough time of it in this world” (10). When Gilly runs away, William Ernest convinces Gilly to come back by begging her to return. Gilly has a soft spot for William Ernest, even though she takes advantage of his naivete when she involves him in her scheme to steal money from Mr. Randolph.

When Gilly complains that she does not understand the Wordsworth poem Mr. Randolph wanted her to read, William Ernest makes a brilliant comment. Gilly states that she does not understand how a flower can be mean or how it can blow, and William Ernest says that a dandelion blows. Gilly describes William Ernest  as “a near-sighted guru” (40) after he makes this insightful remark. William Ernest has many surprising moments that show that he appears meek and unassuming but is still capable. When Agnes Stokes makes fun of William Ernest during a walk home after school, Gilly defends William Ernest.

William Ernest and Gilly write letters to each other after Gilly leaves to live with her grandmother in Virginia. Gilly tells him to keep practicing his reading, and William Ernest greatly enjoys Gilly’s tall tales about having a horse in the Kentucky Derby. In a letter, Maime Trotter tells Gilly that after William Ernest got in a fight at school, he was “prouder than a punch-drunk pickle” (143) for defending himself. William Ernest becomes more confident in himself due to Gilly’s influence.

Mr. Randolph is an elderly, visually impaired neighbor. He is a dear friend of Maime Trotter’s and has dinner at her home every evening, profusely complimenting her cooking at every meal. He is kind, gentle, thoughtful, and loves poetry. He lives alone, as his wife passed away years before and his son lives in Virginia, but he is very close with Maime Trotter and William Ernest, saying that William Ernest is “like a grandson” (14) to him. He and Gilly become friends over the course of the story, though Gilly is initially prejudiced against Mr. Randolph because he is Black.

Mr. Randolph is overjoyed during the first dinner the family has with Gilly when Maime Trotters tells Mr. Randolph that Gilly is an excellent reader. Gilly reads one of Mr. Randolph’s favorite poems “Intimations of Immortality” by William Wordsworth. Mr. Randolph has the poem memorized by heart and recites lines along with Gilly. Mr. Randolph’s love for poetry influences Gilly’s trajectory positively, and Gilly begins to develop a love for poetry also.

Mr. Randolph’s bookshelf becomes a strong element in the plot. Mr. Randolph’s kind and trusting nature leads him to accept Gilly’s offer to dust his bookshelves, even though he doesn’t really care that the bookshelves are dusty. Later, when Gilly returns the stolen money, she realizes that Mr. Randolph didn’t even know it was there. Mr. Randolph forgives Gilly easily without even a reprimand.

Mr. Randolph shows his lighthearted and humorous side when he insists on wearing one of Maime Trotter’s deceased husband’s wildest ties to greet his son. Mr. Randolph wants to shock his serious son by wearing a crazy tie. He can’t stop giggling when Gilly brings him a tie that is covered with ballerinas wearing small tutus that Maime Trotter describes as “fat women jumping around” (82).

During the last dinner that Gilly has with Mr. Randolph, Mr. Randolph performs an incredibly kind gesture when he gives Gilly one of his favorite books, The Oxford Book of English Verse, so that she can take his favorite poems with her to Virginia. Gilly realizes how important Mr. Randolph’s friendship is to her.

Agnes Stokes is a sixth-grade student at Gilly’s elementary school in Thompson Park. Agnes is desperate for friendship and follows Gilly around despite Gilly’s off-putting actions toward Agnes. She appears unkempt, with dirty hair and fingernails. Agnes lives with her grandmother because her parents left and have not returned. Gilly cruelly makes fun of Agnes’ hope that her parents will return. In Agnes, the author shows another image of what childhood neglect and abandonment can be like. Agnes appears very lonely at school, with no friends other than Gilly. Agnes is a foil to Gilly; though they have some similarities, Agnes has a very different personality from Gilly, with an extremely clingy and passive demeanor.

When Agnes comments that both she and Gilly qualify for the free lunch program at school, Gilly is offended and forces Agnes to be quiet for the rest of the lunch, and Agnes complies. Gilly recruits Agnes to help her with her scheme to steal money from Mr. Randolph. Gilly gives Agnes $5 for helping her with her plan, and Agnes is suspicious that there was much more money, but she is happy for the $5. Despite Gilly’s treatment of her, Agnes still seems to enjoy Gilly’s company.

When Gilly misses school for several days to take care of her sick family members, Agnes complains that they haven’t done anything together in a long time (117). Gilly regrets her treatment of Agnes but does not call her to say goodbye before she leaves Thompson Park, as she feels like “she’d never really said ‘hello’” (126). Gilly worries about what will becomes of Agnes after she leaves, and she promises herself that one day she will write Agnes a letter.