Naaman Silver Character Analysis in The Goldfinch

Naaman Silver, who is known as Mr. Silver in the novel, is some kind of gangster from whom Larry borrows money to fund his gambling habit. When Larry is unable to pay back the $50,000 he owes, Silver vaguely threatens Larry and Theo in order to force Larry to pay (which leads him to flee Vegas while drunk, accidentally killing himself). After this, Boris starts working for Silver, who eventually becomes a “father” figure to him.

Naaman Silver Character Timeline in The Goldfinch

The timeline below shows where the character Naaman Silver appears in The Goldfinch. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...from Manhattan. The man himself explains that he is from Canarsie, and is named Naaman Silver. After chatting away about his family history for a while, Silver asks if Larry is... (full context)

When Theo says Larry isn’t, Mr. Silver replies, “I’m gonna be straight with you […] I got five points on your dad.”... (full context)

...fuming that Kotku is not answering her phone. Theo tries to tell Boris about Mr. Silver, but Boris barely listens. He is convinced that she’s hanging out with another boy from... (full context)

When Larry comes back and Theo tells him about Mr. Silver, Theo can tell he is trying to act causal, but that he might actually be... (full context)

...would be better than leaving it at home to be discovered by Larry or Mr. Silver. He takes the painting out of its careful wrapping and looks at it, once again... (full context)

...goes off to wash the dishes, Theo asks if he sorted everything out with Mr. Silver, and Larry explains that “it was just a mix-up.” Apparently, when Larry went to meet... (full context)

...the doorbell rings. Boris goes to answer it, but immediately comes back, looking frightened. Mr. Silver is at the door, accompanied by a large, tattooed man holding a baseball bat. He... (full context)

Once Silver and his men leave, Boris admits that he’s basically eaten nothing for two days. Although... (full context)

...bad way as well, too afraid to leave the house. It turns out that while Silver wasn’t even much of a serious threat, the couple were. (full context)

...school started to go wrong, so he decided to pretend to be Jewish so Mr. Silver would hire him. He admits that he stupidly didn’t know that tattoos are “against the... (full context)

...Goldfinch, and Boris at first says it wasn’t safe in the house, what with Mr. Silver coming around all the time. However, he then admits that’s not the whole reason. He... (full context)