"The Mitchells"
The Mitchells are the title characters of a poem bearing their name. It is a short poem, a portrait of two who have been doing manual labor and are now taking a lunch break of big meat sandwiches in a Styrofoam container. They are talking about a bad drought that occurred some years before. The narrator suggest that if they were asked their names, one would say he’s “one of the Mitchells” with great pride and the other would repeat the phrase with a sense of embarrassment. The narrator leaves the scene by informing the reader that one of these men is rich.
Ted Quarrie
Quarrie is the figure at the center of “The Grandmother’s Story.” Many years earlier, Quarrie had pinched her bottom in public only to shocked by her response: a slap across the face. He’d hated her for that and allowed vengeance to simmer to a boil which takes place one night when he peers into her bedroom window, shows off his revolver and announces it is for her. The gun is now rusting behind the walls of her own home, courtesy of her teenaged son who also publicly humiliates him by demanding he turn over the gun.
"The Visitor"
He is unnamed and no information is given about him other than the fact that he is knocking on a door and that in response his heart is approaching.
Fred Boettcher
Boettcher is the titular character of what is one of Murray’s most well-known works, Fredy Neptune. This award-winning work is a novel written in verse split into five parts totaling ten-thousand lines and is a narrative of adventure tracking Fred’s life between the two world wars. The title derives from his stint as a strongman in the circus.
The Burned Girl
“Cotton Flannelette” was inspired by the story of the author’s own aunt, who was burned badly in her home. In the poem, the victim is a young girl who has fallen asleep in front of the hearth and is awakened by the realization that her nightclothes have caught fire. Her attempt to run free only serve to fan the flames and ultimately the doctor is convinced that her life is beyond saving. But try telling that to an “unnsleeping, absolute mother” who proves the doctor wrong through faith and conviction and persistence of will.
