Jack Malloy Character Analysis in The Night Watchman

Jack Malloy is the owner of Log Jam 26, a bar in Minneapolis where Patrice ends up performing as the waterjack. He ostensibly tries to help Patrice when she first arrives in Minneapolis—he gives her food, drives her around to search for Vera, and offers her a place to stay. But over time, it becomes clear that he’s manipulating her, first to try and get her to become his bar’s latest waterjack, and then to stay in the role for as long as possible. Patrice is suspicious of Jack from the start, and she soon decides that she has to escape from Log Jam 26, especially after she learns that the first two waterjacks are either dead or dying, presumably because the waterjack suit is poisonous. Jack is also addicted to drugs, and when Patrice slips out of the dressing room late at night, she sees Jack having an overdose. She alerts an attendant at the hotel next door about Jack’s overdose and then never sees or hears from Jack again.

Jack Malloy Character Timeline in The Night Watchman

The timeline below shows where the character Jack Malloy appears in The Night Watchman. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...asks Earl if that’s true. The third man apologizes to Patrice and introduces himself as Jack Malloy. Patrice tells the man that her name is Doris Barnes, and Jack offers Patrice... (full context)

When Patrice brings up finding her sister again, Jack offers to help her look and says that she can stay in the dressing room... (full context)

Patrice goes with Jack to the first address she has to look for Vera. The yard is dead, and... (full context)

At the next place, Patrice goes to each apartment but doesn’t get an answer. Jack says that it must be exhausting for Patrice and that they can set up a... (full context)

The next morning, Patrice agrees to be the waterjack. She puts on the suit, and Jack shows her the moves that the waterjack does, moving his shoulders and hips and then... (full context)

...smell while looking over her shoulder. Twenty minutes pass easily, and when she gets out, Jack tells her that she’s a sensation. (full context)

...Bernadette’s house. Bernadette tells him that Patrice had been there and that she was with Jack, who looked sickly and skinny. She says he’s been a functioning “junkie” for years. Bernadette... (full context)

...she finds her bag, her shoes, her coat. When she opens the door, she sees Jack slumped against the wall, his legs stretched straight out. His eyes roll back in his... (full context)

...also been having dreams about Vera, where she sees Vera slumped against the wall where Jack had overdosed or hears Vera saying her name. When Patrice talks to her mother about... (full context)