Eleanor and Park

by

Rainbow Rowell

Jamie Sheridan Character Analysis

Park’s father Jamie, a military man, is a mess of contradictions. Straight-laced and strict, Jamie expects a lot of his sons—but seems to genuinely want to help them become good people and succeed. Jamie is deeply in love with his wife Mindy, and Park and Josh are regularly grossed out by their parents’ over-the-top displays of affection. Park and Jamie often clash over Park’s desire to get his driver’s license—a milestone Jamie is determined to keep him from reaching until he learns to drive a manual transmission. Park believes his father is trying to hold him back, unable to see the ways in which Jamie is trying to better prepare him for the world. Jamie is not a perfect parent—he’s sometimes verbally and even physically abusive—but in the end, he proves himself to be on Park’s team when he supports his son in driving Eleanor out of the state and away from the home of her abusive stepfather, Richie, whom Jamie has known since his own youth.

Jamie Sheridan Quotes in Eleanor and Park

The Eleanor and Park quotes below are all either spoken by Jamie Sheridan or refer to Jamie Sheridan. 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:
Adolescence and Shame Theme Icon
).
Chapter 23 Quotes

“Your mother's sorry. She's sorry that she hurt your feelings, and she wants you to invite your girlfriend over to dinner."

"So that she can make her feel bad and weird?"

"Well, she is kind of weird, isn't she?"

Park didn't have the energy to be angry. He sighed and let his head fall back on the chair.

His dad kept talking. "Isn't that why you like her?"

Related Characters: Park Sheridan (speaker), Jamie Sheridan (speaker), Eleanor Douglas
Page Number: 144
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Eleanor and Park LitChart as a printable PDF.
Eleanor and Park PDF

Jamie Sheridan Quotes in Eleanor and Park

The Eleanor and Park quotes below are all either spoken by Jamie Sheridan or refer to Jamie Sheridan. 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:
Adolescence and Shame Theme Icon
).
Chapter 23 Quotes

“Your mother's sorry. She's sorry that she hurt your feelings, and she wants you to invite your girlfriend over to dinner."

"So that she can make her feel bad and weird?"

"Well, she is kind of weird, isn't she?"

Park didn't have the energy to be angry. He sighed and let his head fall back on the chair.

His dad kept talking. "Isn't that why you like her?"

Related Characters: Park Sheridan (speaker), Jamie Sheridan (speaker), Eleanor Douglas
Page Number: 144
Explanation and Analysis: