Character Analysis

Reverend Shannon: Shannon is a very confused character in the play.  He does not know what he wants, and his actions keep putting him in trouble.  Shannon is already accused of fornication and heresy in the church, and his current job has put him on probation before the play even starts.  He had sex with a seventeen year old girl because he felt that he needed the contact, and now he will soon be charged for statutory rape.  He knows that he still wants to be a reverend, but does many things to hurt his chances of going back to the Church.  

Hannah Jelkes: Hannah is a person that is not ashamed of anything.  Her grandfather is the oldest living and practicing poet, and she sketches people.  They travel together but do not have any money.  Hannah tells Shannon and Maxine that she is not ashamed of her financial situation, but is proud of what she has.  She lives to take care of her grandfather, and throughout the play she takes care of Shannon also.  She is a very loving and caring person who does not care about material things.

Maxine Faulk: Maxine is very lonely with her life.  Her husband has just died, and she is left with the hotel to take care of all by herself.  She did not have a very sexual relationship with her husband, so she uses her servants, Pedro and Pancho, to replace the void that she once had.  She also uses Shannon to try to replace Fred.  She offers him Fred's clothes, shoes, and bed hoping that he would accept the position.  At the end of the play, she also asks him to help her with the hotel, but he never answers.  Maxine wants to have a man to take care of her, but never seems to find one in the play.