Early Character Analysis

Early is Desiree’s romantic partner. As a teenager, he briefly lives on the outskirts of Mallard, where he works on a farm with his aunt and uncle. He’s not from Mallard, so his skin isn’t as light as everyone else’s. For this reason, Adele doesn’t approve of him and doesn’t want Desiree to date him, so she chases him off their porch one night. He never returns, and his family eventually moves to a farm in another town. But Early comes back to Mallard years later, when Sam hires him to find Desiree. Early is a bounty hunter who spendt a short period in jail for small crimes and now works with a man named Ceel to track down fugitives. He agrees to find Desiree, but when he actually locates her, he can’t bring himself to tell Sam where she is. He learns that Desiree ran away because Sam was abusive, so instead of helping Sam, he starts rekindling his relationship with Desiree. He also offers to help her look for Stella. A kindhearted man, he enjoys spending time with Desiree and trying to make her life better. Over the next few decades, he becomes Desiree’s romantic partner, though he doesn’t permanently move in with her. Instead, he stays with her at Adele’s house for short periods and frequently leaves town to track people down. As he gets older, though, he stops his work as a bounty hunter and gets a job at the local refinery in Mallard, finally living full-time with Desiree in Adele’s house. He acts as a father figure of sorts to Jude and helps Adele as she succumbs to Alzheimer’s disease. After Adele’s death, he and Desiree move to Houston, Texas, where he works at a refinery and she works at a call center.