Study Guide

The Natural Characters

By Bernard Malamud

Roy Hobbs seems to come out of nowhere. He's from some unnamed rural town out west and hasn't...

Memo's a gold-digging seductress with an exotic name, exotic red hair, and a killer body. She's...

Poor Pop. He's sad and demoralized because his Knights aren't exactly wearing shining armor. They...

Iris is everything that Memo's not. She's mature, sympathetic, supportive, and she wants Roy to...

We don't know much about Judge Banner, but what we do know isn't good. He's a lying, cheating...

This guy's a real slime ball. Just look at him: a "short, somewhat popeyed gent" who goes around...

Gus is a bookie, which means he stands to make a lot of money if he knows the outcome of a ball...

Much like The Whammer, Bump is a guy you shouldn't mess with. He's big, strong, famous, and rich....

This bird isn't around for long, but she makes quite the impact on our poor hero's life....

The coach/manager of the Knights, Red Blow is a sweetheart who's always looking out for Pop and...

Sam's the scout who first discovered Roy and took him to Chicago for the tryouts. He's a bad...

Nice name, right? You expect a guy called Whambold to knock 'em out of the park, and that's what...

They were a nutty bunch to begin with but when they were losing they were impossible. It was like...