The Nickel Boys Characters

Elwood Curtis is a teenage black boy living in Florida in the early 1960s, and the protagonist of The Nickel Boys. A determined young man, Elwood lives with his grandmother, who takes him… read analysis of Elwood Curtis

Turner is one of Elwood’s peers at Nickel Academy. A young man who has had a wayward childhood, Turner has been to Nickel Academy once before. Consequently, he has an understanding of the institution… read analysis of Jack Turner

Elwood’s grandmother is a kind and principled older woman who has served as Elwood’s primary caretaker ever since his parents (her daughter and son-in-law) left Florida in the middle of the night to live… read analysis of Harriet (Elwood’s Grandmother)

Mr. Marconi is an Italian American man who owns the cigar store where Elwood works before going to Nickel Academy. During World War II, Mr. Marconi opened his cigar store in the African American part… read analysis of Mr. Marconi

Desmond is one of Elwood’s peers at Nickel Academy. When Elwood first arrives, Blakely instructs Desmond to show him around. Because of this, Desmond becomes Elwood’s guide, telling him everything about Nickel and becoming… read analysis of Desmond

Jaimie is one of Elwood’s peers at Nickel Academy. A boy of Mexican descent, Jaimie looks light-skinned in most contexts but dark-skinned when he has been working outside. For this reason, the staff at… read analysis of Jaimie

Maynard Spencer is the superintendent of Nickel Academy. A severe man, he has no problem beating and even killing students who don’t obey his every word. In keeping with this, Spencer is the one who… read analysis of Maynard Spencer

Griff is a student at Nickel Academy. With Lonnie and Black Mike, he bullies the other boys, intimidating and beating them up on a regular basis. Griff is an extraordinarily large young man, which… read analysis of Griff

Lonnie is a student at Nickel Academy. A menacing boy, he spends his time with Black Mike and Griff, forming a fearsome trio that harasses the other students. When Elwood walks into the bathroom… read analysis of Lonnie

Big Chet is a student at Nickel Academy. A large and threatening young man, he fights for the white dorms in the boxing championship against Griff. Although he puts up a surprisingly good fight… read analysis of Big Chet

Director Hardee is the director of Nickel Academy. Although he isn’t involved in the institution’s day-to-day operations, he oversees things like the annual boxing championship, gathering board members and influential people from the town of… read analysis of Director Hardee

Blakely is the “house father” in Cleveland, the dorm in which Elwood lives while he’s at Nickel Academy. Blakely isn’t a particularly ferocious man, but he does enforce the rules and demands set by people… read analysis of Blakely

Dr. Cooke is the doctor at Nickel Academy, where he mostly tends to the wounds students get from being beaten by Spencer. In the aftermath of Elwood’s first beating, Dr. Cooke has to… read analysis of Dr. Cooke

Hennepin is a vicious man who enjoys beating and whipping students at Nickel Academy. When Jaimie poisons Earl, Spencer brings Hennepin onto the Nickel staff to replace him. Though the boys don’t know it… read analysis of Hennepin

Millie is Turner’s wife. Having grown up in Virginia at the same time Turner was coming of age in Florida, she knows what it’s like to face discrimination, though she can hardly fathom the… read analysis of Millie

Mr. Goodall is Elwood’s teacher at Nickel Academy. Providing a stark contrast to Elwood’s previous teachers, Mr. Goodall is apathetic when it comes to teaching, not caring that none of his students pay attention… read analysis of Mr. Goodall

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a prominent activist and preacher during the Civil Rights Movement. When Elwood is 12, his grandmother gives him Martin Luther King at Zion Hill, a recording of the… read analysis of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Harper is a twenty-year-old staff member at Nickel Academy. A white man who grew up around Nickel because his mother worked there, Harper is used to interacting with the school’s students. Unlike the other staff… read analysis of Harper

Earl is Spencer’s righthand man, who helps him exact beatings on the boys at Nickel Academy. When Jaimie, Desmond, Turner, and Elwood fantasize about poisoning one of the staff members, Jaimie… read analysis of Earl

Corey is a young boy at Nickel Academy. On Elwood’s second night at the school, he enters the bathroom to find Black Mike and Lonnie beating up Corey. When he tries to intervene… read analysis of Corey

Trevor Nickel is the man after whom Nickel Academy is named. In 1942, Nickel was made director of the school, which was at that time called the Florida Industrial School for Boys. Although Nickel had… read analysis of Trevor Nickel

Turner (who at the time goes by Elwood) dates Denise while living in New York City after having left Nickel Academy. A teacher who holds night classes at a local high school, Denise meets… read analysis of Denise

Chickie Pete is a former Nickel Boy whom Turner (who at the time goes by Elwood) encounters on the streets of New York City. It has been decades since both Turner and Chickie left… read analysis of Chickie Pete