Character Analysis
If you're looking for the nicest guardian at Hailsham, look no further than sweet Miss Geraldine. In fact, Miss Geraldine is so nice that she croons over Tommy, even when he's drawn a childish picture of an elephant. Sadly for Tommy, this whole nice teacher thing backfires and he just ends up as the butt of everyone's jokes. So Miss Geraldine may be nice, but she also accidentally stirs up trouble.
But here's where things get really weird and kinda creepy: Miss Geraldine is the teacher that Ruth's secret guard makes it their mission to protect. And protect her from what again? Oh that's right, from a teacher-napping. It seems like Miss Geraldine's job as a guardian is, in part, to protect the Hailsham students. The word "guard" is even in her job title. This makes it especially strange that the students see it as their job to protect Miss Geraldine. What's that all about?
Whether you think this notion of the secret guard is scary or ridiculous (we're thinking both), Miss Geraldine has an important role in the novel. After all, protecting Miss G is part of what brings Kathy and Ruth together as friends. It's also what causes one of their first fights. So once again, where nice Miss G goes, trouble will follow.