Dry September Characters

Truth-seeker, hero, reasonable man, and, perhaps, coward – these are some of the adjective that come to mind when we think of Henry "Hawkshaw" Stribling (or Hawk for short). We know his last...

Minnie Cooper is almost 40, unmarried, and lives with her aunt and her mother. She spends her mornings swinging in her porch swing, her afternoons dressing and shopping, and her evenings dressing a...

Will's character resists traditional analysis. He might seem at first a mere outline of a black man, the victim of a rumor, and then the victim of a hate crime. Yet, Will is no stick figure. He pro...

McLendon is a vigilante, and the story's most obvious villain. His gun, hat, handcuffs, and experience as a military commander give him a general air of authority. As we discuss in Will's "Characte...

We don't meet Mrs. McLendon until the last part of the story. We know nothing about her other than that she reads magazines and is in a dangerous relationship with a dangerous man, McLendon. She se...

Butch is a young man. Before McLendon appears on the scene to recruit men for his vigilante mob, Butch argues for drastic action against Will on the basis of the rumor. He joins the mob and partici...

The soldier is actually an ex-soldier. In the barbershop he seems to side with Butch that something should be done about Will, but he agrees with Hawkshaw that a proper investigation should be cond...

The stranger is a traveling salesman, or a "drummer" – a person who drums-up sales. He is being shaved by Hawkshaw during the argument over the rumor. He joins the vigilante gang and particip...

With friends like these, who needs enemies? We think these ladies are behind much of the sinister action of "Dry September." A big goal in their life seems to be helping Minnie snag a man, in order...

The banker dated Minnie after his wife died. The town scorned Minnie for being in a relationship with him, but apparently didn't hold it against him. His life, it seems, goes quite well after he du...