Old School

by

Tobias Wolff

Big Jeff is one of the narrator’s classmates and Purcell’s cousin. Both he and Purcell are named Jeff Purcell, and so he’s nicknamed “Big Jeff” because he’s taller. Big Jeff is a vegetarian and a scientist. Once, he accidentally shoots a rocket into the school’s field house and sets it on fire. Later, Big Jeff submits a story called “The Day the Cows Came Home,” which is meant to be a critique of eating meat, to the competition to meet Ayn Rand. Rand selects the story, but it becomes clear that she interprets it as a criticism of collectivism and the welfare state instead of Big Jeff’s intended vegetarian allegory.
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Big Jeff Character Timeline in Old School

The timeline below shows where the character Big Jeff appears in Old School. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1: Class Picture
Identity and Belonging Theme Icon
Competition, Masculinity, and Pride Theme Icon
...cousin who attends the school that is also named Jeff Purcell, whom they call “ Big Jeff ” despite the fact that he’s not much bigger than Little Jeff. Little Jeff is... (full context)
Chapter 2: On Fire
Competition, Masculinity, and Pride Theme Icon
Education, Failure, and Growth Theme Icon
...house. No flames are visible, but a few shingles are burned. The narrator learns that Big Jeff started the fire. Big Jeff is a very friendly person, a vegetarian, and a scientist.... (full context)
Chapter 4: Übermensch
The Power of Literature Theme Icon
Competition, Masculinity, and Pride Theme Icon
Education, Failure, and Growth Theme Icon
...narrator is discharged from the infirmary, he goes to congratulate Purcell, but Purcell says that Big Jeff actually won. The narrator is stunned—he didn’t know Big Jeff wrote. Purcell gives the narrator... (full context)
The Power of Literature Theme Icon
Big Jeff ’s story is called “The Day the Cows Came Home.” In the story, a UFO... (full context)
The Power of Literature Theme Icon
In the newspaper’s interview with Ayn Rand, she praises Big Jeff as a great writer in the making, noting his dare to challenge “collectivist orthodoxy.” She... (full context)
The Power of Literature Theme Icon
Big Jeff then asks what Rand’s position on meat is, saying that if her readers knew she... (full context)
Chapter 6: The Forked Tongue
Competition, Masculinity, and Pride Theme Icon
On Friday, Big Jeff announces that if Purcell got kicked out, he would leave too. This doesn’t make much... (full context)
Competition, Masculinity, and Pride Theme Icon
Purcell attends chapel on Saturday afternoon. The narrator surmises that he didn’t want Big Jeff to leave the school as well, which would embarrass him. At the Troubadour editorial meeting,... (full context)