This Boy’s Life

by

Tobias Wolff

Chuck Bolger Character Analysis

One of Jack’s closest friends in high school. Chuck is a preacher’s son, but has a serious drinking problem. When drunk, he is “haunted and wild”; when sober, he is kind, gentle, brotherly, and the kind of person everyone wants to be friends with. Chuck and Jack frequently play pranks and get into mischief, and though they have lighthearted fun together often, Jack notices that when Chuck gets too drunk, he seems to want to hurt himself.

Chuck Bolger Quotes in This Boy’s Life

The This Boy’s Life quotes below are all either spoken by Chuck Bolger or refer to Chuck Bolger. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Storytelling and Escapism Theme Icon
).
Chapter 26 Quotes

Everyone liked Chuck. Sober, he was friendly and calm and openhanded. When I admired a sweater of his he gave it to me, and later he gave me a Buddy Holly album we used to sing along with. Chuck liked to sing when he wasn't in church. It was hard to believe, seeing him in the light of day, that he had spent the previous night throwing himself against a tree. That was why the Bolgers had so much trouble coming to terms with his wildness. They saw nothing of it. He lingered over meals in the main house, talked with his father about the store, helped his mother with the dishes. His little sisters fawned on him like spaniels. Chuck seemed for all the world a boy at home with himself, and at these times he was. It wasn't an act. So when the other Chuck, the bad Chuck, did something, it always caught the Bolgers on their blind side and knocked them flat.

Related Characters: Jack / Tobias (speaker), Chuck Bolger
Page Number: 240
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire This Boy’s Life LitChart as a printable PDF.
This Boy’s Life PDF

Chuck Bolger Quotes in This Boy’s Life

The This Boy’s Life quotes below are all either spoken by Chuck Bolger or refer to Chuck Bolger. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Storytelling and Escapism Theme Icon
).
Chapter 26 Quotes

Everyone liked Chuck. Sober, he was friendly and calm and openhanded. When I admired a sweater of his he gave it to me, and later he gave me a Buddy Holly album we used to sing along with. Chuck liked to sing when he wasn't in church. It was hard to believe, seeing him in the light of day, that he had spent the previous night throwing himself against a tree. That was why the Bolgers had so much trouble coming to terms with his wildness. They saw nothing of it. He lingered over meals in the main house, talked with his father about the store, helped his mother with the dishes. His little sisters fawned on him like spaniels. Chuck seemed for all the world a boy at home with himself, and at these times he was. It wasn't an act. So when the other Chuck, the bad Chuck, did something, it always caught the Bolgers on their blind side and knocked them flat.

Related Characters: Jack / Tobias (speaker), Chuck Bolger
Page Number: 240
Explanation and Analysis: