Maggot Character Analysis in Demon Copperhead

Maggot, born Matt Peggot, is Demon’s closest friend growing up. They spend days together playing in the nearby creek, and Demon seems to spend as much time at Maggot’s house as his own. When Mom becomes involved with Stoner, Stoner forbids Demon from spending time with Maggot because he suspects that Maggot is gay. In some respects, Maggot serves as an example of the discrimination and prejudice that people from the LGBTQ+ community can face in Appalachia. However, as Maggot becomes unhappier and struggles with drugs and addiction, his grandparents who raised him, Mr. and Mrs. Peggot, say they just want him to be happy and don’t care about his sexual orientation. Notably, while people like Stoner discriminate against Maggot, Maggot doesn’t seem to face significant prejudice or discrimination at school. By the end of the novel, after spending time in juvenile detention, Maggot has a boyfriend and is sober, presenting another example of how, despite setbacks and hardships, a person’s community can help them overcome their personal struggles.

Maggot Quotes in Demon Copperhead

The Demon Copperhead quotes below are all either spoken by Maggot or refer to Maggot. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

For whatever reason Emmy said okay, let’s do it. I had to hold her hand. She kept her eyes closed.

It was true about Aunt June keeping track. Which was not true of my mom in any way, shape, or form. So that was me promising Emmy that life is to be trusted. I knew better. I should have let her go with her gut: Never get back on the horse, because it’s going to throw you every damn chance it gets. Then maybe she’d have been wise to the shit that came for her later on, and maybe it would have turned out better.

Related Characters: Demon Copperhead (speaker), Maggot, Emmy, Aunt June

Page Number and Citation: 28

Explanation and Analysis:

Nobody believed a word out of this girl’s mouth at the time of her need. And today, her side of the story stands as gospel. The world turns […]. How all this fits with the story of me, hard to say.

Related Characters: Demon Copperhead (speaker), Maggot, Mariah Peggot, Romeo Blevins

Page Number and Citation: 42

Explanation and Analysis:

Miss Barks […] stuck with a different theory. I needed to be more pushy with them. Did she give up on her dreams? No, she worked hard for what she wanted. Did I expect anybody to look out for Damon if he wouldn’t look out for himself? Life is what you make it! Here’s where Miss Barks didn’t grow up: foster care. She had no clue how people can be living right on the edge of what’s doable. If you push too hard, you can barrel yourself over a damn cliff.

Related Characters: Demon Copperhead (speaker), Demon’s Mom , Maggot, Emmy, Dori, Hammerhead Kelly, Miss Barks, Mr. McCobb, Mrs. McCobb

Page Number and Citation: 144-145

Explanation and Analysis:

“It’s not natural for boys to lose their minds,” she said. “It happens because they’ve had too many things taken away from them.”

I asked her like what. She got up and walked around the room, upset. No decent schooling, she said. No chance to get good at anything that uses our talents. No future. They took all that away and supplied us with the tools for cooking our brains, hoping we’d kill each other before realizing the real assholes are a thousand miles from here […].

She sat down on the bed again. “The question you have to answer now is, What are you willing to do for yourself? And I won’t lie, it’s going to be harder than anything you’ve done before.”

Related Characters: Demon Copperhead (speaker), Aunt June (speaker), Maggot, Fast Forward, Hammerhead Kelly

Page Number and Citation: 499

Explanation and Analysis:

Maggot Character Timeline in Demon Copperhead

The timeline below shows where the character Maggot appears in Demon Copperhead. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Class, Social Hierarchy, and Stereotypes Theme Icon

...in the creek, looking under rocks, and “being mighty” with his neighbor, a boy named Maggot. “Maggot” is short for Matt Peggot, and he’s the grandson of Nance. The place where... (full context)

...every member of the family gets talked about in one way or another, except for Maggot’s mom, who’s in jail, and his uncle Humvee, who’s dead. The Peggots also have a... (full context)

...mind it until he finds out about Lazarus and thinks his dad might come back. Maggot helps calm him down by explaining that Bible stories are a kind of superhero comic.... (full context)

...for summer after fourth grade, the Peggots offer to take Demon with them to visit Maggot’s aunt June in Knoxville. Demon is sure Mom will say no, but, surprisingly, she agrees. (full context)

In Knoxville, Demon is surprised to find Emmy Peggot, the daughter of Maggot’s dead uncle Humvee, living with Aunt June. Emmy’s a sixth grader with long brown hair,... (full context)

Demon and Maggot spend their time in Knoxville with Emmy, who tells them stories of the suitors Aunt... (full context)

...because Stoner makes good money. Stoner’s dog, Satan, moves into a fort that Demon and Maggot built together. Demon plans to spend all his time at Maggot’s during the summer, but... (full context)

When fifth grade starts, Demon and Maggot are excited to see each other again and to spend the first day of classes... (full context)

...hospital, a woman from DSS speaks to Demon. At first, she wants to know if Maggot, Mr. Peggot, or Mrs. Peggot have molested him. Demon says certainly not and thinks that... (full context)

...that foster care gets worse the older you get. At school, Demon gets to see Maggot. Demon describes Maggot as the only thing he has left to live for. At Crickson’s... (full context)

...he lived from the school bus driver, bypassing DSS entirely. Demon shows Mrs. Peggot and Maggot the house while Mr. Peggot talks to Crickson. The house’s condition upsets Mrs. Peggot. She... (full context)

...a last-ditch effort to get a response, Demon says he’ll be going to Knoxville with Maggot and the Peggots for Christmas. Stoner just says, “You all have a nice time.” (full context)

Maggot is on board with Demon joining the Peggots in Knoxville for Christmas, but Mrs. Peggot... (full context)

...Aunt June, explaining that the Peggots took her in after her dad died. Then, when Maggot’s mom was sent to prison, they took Maggot in, too. They couldn’t care for both... (full context)

...says, she and Mr. Peggot are getting older, and they’re both having health issues. And Maggot will move out in two years when his mom is released from prison. Mrs. Peggot... (full context)

...them. Demon and Angus start spending time together regularly. Demon hasn’t had a friend since Maggot, whom he hasn’t seen in a long time. He thinks it’s a little strange to... (full context)

...arrange for Demon to go to the Peggots to see Mr. Peggot, Mrs. Peggot, and Maggot. When Demon arrives on a Saturday after football practice, the Peggots gather around him like... (full context)

...of the family, because she was afraid Betsy might still try to take him away. Maggot tells Demon that his mom will be in prison for longer because her parole was... (full context)

At June and Emmy’s house, Emmy takes Maggot and Demon to her room and tells them “her secrets, just like old times.” After... (full context)

...their efforts. All the middle schools feed into the same high school, so Demon and Maggot are reunited, and they go to school with Emmy and Angus, too. Demon starts spending... (full context)

...throw manure on the field. On a Saturday the following February, Emmy tells Demon and Maggot that June and Kent are breaking up. Emmy explains that June told Kent that she... (full context)

Demon thinks Fast Forward might be able to help Maggot, so he invites Fast Forward to June and Emmy’s Fourth of July Party. Fast Forward... (full context)

At the party, Demon learns that Emmy is going out with Hammer, Maggot’s cousin. Demon sees Mouse and Fast Forward leading a group of people away from the... (full context)

Dori and Demon plan to see each other again next Saturday. When Saturday comes, though, Maggot calls Demon and tells him Mr. Peggot isn’t okay. June picks Demon up to take... (full context)

Maggot disappears, and Demon finds him at the creek where they used to play together. Before... (full context)

...filled with people from the community. Even Stoner is there. Demon doesn’t talk to him. Maggot is wearing a suit and tie. Demon feels proud to sit with the family during... (full context)

...He doesn’t keep up his connections with most of his other friends, including Angus and Maggot, and he starts skipping school more. After Angus confronts Demon about not following through on... (full context)

...probably at June’s house, protecting her right now. She starts crying. She says she drove Maggot’s friend, Martha, to Knoxville for an abortion but lied about it. She says taking Martha... (full context)

The next day, Demon, Maggot, Emmy, and Fast Forward pass through Christiansburg and Richmond. In Richmond, they stop to see... (full context)

...University of Tennessee at Knoxville, but she decides to run off with Fast Forward instead. Maggot tells Demon about it after he starts staying on his and Dori’s couch. When Maggot,... (full context)

Maggot moves back in with Mrs. Peggot. Tommy is the only person who is able to... (full context)

...with Fast Forward, but they don’t know much beyond that. June says she’s worried about Maggot, too, and that more than anything, he needs a good boyfriend. “You’d be okay with... (full context)

The next week, Maggot asks Demon to pick him up from Mrs. Peggot’s. After he does, Maggot gives him... (full context)

Demon drives with Maggot to the “crack house” in Woodway where Martha is staying. Martha gets in the car... (full context)

Demon starts living in Dori’s old car, an Impala, until Maggot finds him. Mrs. Peggot says she wants Demon to move in with them. Demon moves,... (full context)

...Fast Forward is straightforward: Fast Forward stole Emmy from him and then treated her badly. Maggot and Hammer are both on meth. Hammer takes his rifle with him when they leave... (full context)

...Fast Forward’s body. The water is rising, though, and sweeps Hammer away. Big Bear and Maggot run to get help. Demon can barely walk, so he stays behind. After they’re gone,... (full context)

...and Demon goes in another to be taken to the hospital and treated for exposure. Maggot rides with him in the ambulance. The next morning, Rose gets in to visit him... (full context)

...to Mrs. Peggot’s house. It falls on him to tell the Peggots how Hammer died. Maggot is too high to do it. When Demon talks about Hammer’s death, he leaves out... (full context)

Demon packs his things that same afternoon. He wakes Maggot up to tell him he’s leaving. When Maggot asks where he’s going, Demon says he’s... (full context)

...rehab because he was “well used to the no-toucher lifestyle before [he] started the program.” Maggot goes to juvenile detention and stays there for two years. Now he’s living with Mariah... (full context)

...about lawsuits against drug companies she helped get off the ground. She also talks about Maggot and Mariah. They are both working at PetSmart, and Maggot has a boyfriend. June tells... (full context)