Character Analysis
Parker Munsey
Parker Munsey runs Mr. Armond's big farm and herds his cattle. He's a mean-spirited son-of-a-gun, and he doesn't like the idea of Tom working on the property he's overseeing. As Birdy puts it, "Parker was born mean […] meaner than a weasel squeezing under a henhouse door" (37.17). Wildlife fact: weasels kill chickens just for the fun of it and eat their eggs.
Parker doesn't make many appearances in the book, but when he does, Tom is able to hold his own. For instance, when Parker roughs him around a little and demands Tom pick up the pace on tearing down the Breen house, Tom says coolly, "I got to get my foundation built […] and get the frame up and roofed. After that, me and Birdy will take care of the house" (42.17). Tom's level-headed way of dealing with Parker is a sign that he's changing from the shy boy he once was into a solid young man who can face down the wrong kind of dude.
Oscar Lambert
Oscar Lambert is the bank president. That means everyone in town knows who he is. Tom observes that "Mr. Lambert always wore a black hat on the street and carried an umbrella no matter what the weather was like, and he looked as respectable and solemn as Mr. Vance, the undertaker. He had a pink face like Mr. Vance, too; and he looked as if maybe he fed even better" (53.4).
While he was alive, Bert Breen got a kick out of watching Mr. Lambert puzzle over where he kept his money, and Billy-Bob also chuckles over the thought of Mr. Lambert's consternation when Tom finds the money. All accounts of Bert suggest that he was a man who bucked society and lived by his own rules, not in a bad way, just in an eccentric way. As the bank president, though, Oscar Lambert represents proper social law and order, so Bert's way of sticking it to him represents sticking it to The Man in general.
Joe Hemphill
Joe runs the livery stable, which means he rents horses and wagons out to people and drives them around. It's the perfect job for him because he likes to gossip. He also feels mighty important for having been the one to discover the Widow Breen's body.
Sheriff Purley
Sheriff Purley makes a brief appearance during the inquiry into Mrs. Breen's death. He seems to enjoy Tom's honest and forthright statements, as well as his penchant for blunt observations about people. Here's one small convo demonstrating that:
"I don't think Joe did that […] I think he got real nervous when he found [Mrs. Breen] was dead. I think he wanted to get out of the house as soon as he could."
Sheriff Purley smiled.
"I think you're right, Tom." (25.13-15)
Dr. Considine
Dr. Considine is the coroner who comes to Boonville to look into the Widow Breen's death. He has gray hair and red cheeks, and "If he wasn't the biggest man Tom had ever seen, he was the fattest" (23.9). He's pretty much the epitome of a useless bureaucrat—he spends most of his time concerned with eating and drinking, while doing the bare minimum in the inquiry.
Considine highlights the difference between the formalities of government and city life and Tom's rural life by asking if "Tom" is short for "Thomas." Tom replies, "I don't know […] Nobody has ever called me Thomas" (23.19). Nevertheless, Doc Considine writes, "Thomas Dolan" on his forms. Tom's statements about his name might seem strange to us nowadays, but in the early 1900s, recordkeeping and literacy weren't as thorough as they are now, especially among the rural poor. Tom's remark about his name to the coroner highlights his particular circumstances.
Mrs. Conroy
Mrs. Conroy, a very minor character, is Mr. Hook's no-nonsense housekeeper who helps Polly Ann plan the food for the barn-raising. When Tom first sees her, he gives us this description: "She did have gray hair, but she was a big, raw-boned woman, as tall as Mr. Hook, with a voice you could hear from one end of the yard to the other" (44.24). She clearly likes Polly Ann, and her nod of approval at Polly Ann's housekeeping gives us even more of a vote of faith in Polly Ann's capabilities, not that we ever really thought they were lacking.
Mrs. Ackerman
Aggie Ackerman is Erlo Ackerman's overbearing and nervous-tempered wife. She freaks out when Erlo is four minutes late calling home on the new phone,and she commandeers the barn-raising food when asked to be involved. Mrs. Conroy, a faultlessly practical woman, remarks that Mrs. Ackerman is the kind of person who "likes to be the boss" (44.27). Ask one word of advice from her "and in ten minutes she'll figure she's running the whole party" (44.27). But she seems to be a good match for Erlo, and she's even "built as solid" as he is (47.2).
Mr. Vance
He's the undertaker, and he likes sandwiches. That's pretty much all we get about him.