Dennis Hoagland Character Analysis in Native Speaker

Dennis Hoagland is Henry’s boss at Glimmer & Company. He’s a control freak who claims to care about his employees’ well-being but, in reality, only cares about them insofar as they’re able to successfully complete their assignments. For instance, he frequently calls to check up on Henry in the period after Lelia leaves him to be on her own, but Henry can tell that Hoagland doesn’t legitimately care about Henry’s emotional state—he just wants to make sure he’ll be able to complete his next assignment. To that end, Hoagland frequently sends Jack to check on Henry’s progress as he works to gather information about John Kwang. When Henry has trouble transmitting sensitive information about Kwang, Hoagland senses his hesitation and sends Jack to put some pressure on him. On the whole, both Henry and Lelia see Hoagland as an unpredictable, somewhat dangerous person, which is why Henry doesn’t simply quit his job in the middle of the Kwang assignment: there is, after all, no saying what Hoagland might do to him if he were to do this.

Dennis Hoagland Character Timeline in Native Speaker

The timeline below shows where the character Dennis Hoagland appears in Native Speaker. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Silence, Language, and Communication Theme Icon

...way, Grace—Henry’s only female coworker—listens but doesn’t chime in. The boss of the company, Dennis Hoagland, then interrupts the conversation. He’s a boisterous man who looks perfectly healthy, but Henry always... (full context)

Identity and Multiculturalism Theme Icon

...focus on Central America and Africa, Pete focuses on Japan, and Henry focuses on Korea. Hoagland founded the organization in the 1970s, when there were many immigrants coming to the country—he... (full context)

Dennis Hoagland’s company gives its clients valuable information about “people working against their vested interests.” This information... (full context)

...spending less and less time in the office, which is just north of the city. Hoagland doesn’t like his absence, so he calls him at strange hours, ringing him up in... (full context)

Eventually, Hoagland sent Jack to take Henry off the Luzan case. Now, Henry knows, Hoagland is monitoring... (full context)

...Jack took time off to care for her, and it was during this period that Hoagland told Henry about Jack’s past working for the CIA. He told him a story about... (full context)

...nobody ever visits their floor. The elevator door opens onto a small lobby, in which Hoagland has installed a hidden camera to monitor new arrivals. Today the office is relatively empty,... (full context)

...he hasn’t spent much time looking over the file in preparation. He senses that Dennis Hoagland has urged Jack to check up on him, wanting to know how he’s coming along.... (full context)

Henry and Jack talk about work politics, and Henry mentions that Lelia doesn’t trust Hoagland. She does, however, love Jack. In fact, she really doesn’t mind anyone at Henry’s work... (full context)

...father ever donated to Kwang. “Let’s hope not,” he hears behind him, turning to see Hoagland standing there and observing him. Hoagland informs him that he will be placed in one... (full context)

...she was still in law school, but she has only recently joined his political team. Hoagland says that she’s not yet romantically entangled with Kwang, but he insinuates that this is... (full context)

Hoagland motions for Henry to step into his office alone. He then urges him to be... (full context)

Before Henry leaves the office, Hoagland tells him not to mess this assignment up. What happened with Luzan cost the company—“and... (full context)

...Henry isn’t sure what to say. The truth is, he feels deeply grateful for Dennis Hoagland, who recruited him for a job that has allowed him to find his “truest place... (full context)

Henry is supposed to send Hoagland periodic updates about his time with Kwang. But he hasn’t sent anything yet. He has... (full context)

Henry goes to an apartment that Hoagland rents for the company in the city. Its windows are covered, and there are workstations... (full context)

...work he found himself in. Jack’s comment makes Henry think about his initial dealings with Hoagland, who approached him outside a career services office a few years after he’d graduated college.... (full context)

...that Jack didn’t come to see Henry just to chat. He has a message from Hoagland, which is that Henry needs to be in contact with the firm a bit more.... (full context)

...however, doesn’t agree—he thinks there was something more sinister going on, and he insinuates that Hoagland himself might have been wrapped up in it. But Jack dismisses this idea and simply... (full context)

...for this kind of work. He should therefore finish the Kwang job by simply giving Hoagland what he wants: information. Perhaps, Jack suggests, there’s something going on with Kwang’s “money operation.”... (full context)

Regardless of his feelings about Hoagland or his job, Henry can’t deny that he’s the perfect person for the Kwang assignment.... (full context)

Henry obediently writes his logs about Kwang, reporting his daily activities and transmitting them to Hoagland. But he suddenly has trouble describing Kwang, as if he has lost his understanding of... (full context)

Henry admits to Lelia that he’s struggling. She wants to know what, exactly, Hoagland expects of him, and he explains that he needs to deliver something “damning” about Kwang... (full context)

Understanding the difficulty of Henry’s situation, Lelia suggests that he should just give Hoagland what he wants—that is, he should dig up some dirt about Kwang. But Henry says... (full context)

...contact Jack, but he can’t reach him. Finally, he calls Jack at the office and Hoagland picks up before passing the phone to Jack, who already knows about the bombing. (full context)

Henry wants to know what happened, worried that Hoagland and Jack had something to do with the bombing. But Jack insists that this isn’t... (full context)

Henry meets Jack at a diner one night. Jack is sick with the flu, but Hoagland insisted that he speak to Henry in person. Jack no longer does his own fieldwork,... (full context)

Jack says that Hoagland is pleased with Henry once again. The reports he has been writing, Jack says, are... (full context)

Even though he has already said that Hoagland is pleased with Henry’s work, Jack now reveals that their boss thinks Henry could be... (full context)

Hoagland wants one last thing, Jack says. He wants Henry’s full report, of course, but he... (full context)

...know vital information, she could be used against him when he finally stops working for Hoagland. However, Henry has already made Hoagland and Jack agree not to involve Lelia if anything... (full context)

All the same, Henry has decided not to tell Hoagland that Kwang is responsible for the bombing. He sees this decision as his “final honoring”... (full context)

Henry now understands that the ggeh list must have been the only thing Hoagland was interested in when it came to Kwang. Neither Hoagland nor the client who hired... (full context)

...crowd outside Kwang’s house. That morning, he left Lelia in the apartment to go to Hoagland’s office for the final time. As soon as he got onto the street, he encountered... (full context)