The Bully

Tyray is the bully of the novel’s title and the antagonist of the story. Taller and stronger than Darrell, Tyray uses his physical superiority to intimidate Darrell. He exerts power over Darrell in multiple ways: hurting him, threatening him with social humiliation, demanding his mother’s hard-earned money, and isolating him from peers. Tyray appears to take genuine delight in watching Darrell suffer, laughing at his misery alongside two minions who follow him and echo his actions.

The other kids at school are also frightened of Tyray, which implies that he has victimized other students before. When Darrell arrives in California, Tyray immediately singles him out and embarks on a campaign of harassment that gets worse as Darrell acquiesces to Tyray’s demands. When Tyray notices that Amberlynn, the girl Tyray has a crush on, might be interested in Darrell, he escalates his abusive and controlling behavior to include her, shaming Amberlynn for associating with Darrell and forcing her to publicly disavow him.

Though Tyray projects toughness and machismo when he bullies Darrell, he crumbles quickly during their climactic fight. As soon as he experiences real pain, he screams and cries, abruptly dismantling his tough exterior. As his power over Darrell diminishes, so does his school-wide reputation.

Darrell’s mother, Jackie, is a caring, hard-working single parent who has raised Darrell alone since her husband died. As the novel opens, because she has lost her job and struggles to make enough money in Philadelphia to take care of Darrell, her brother Jason offers her a better-paying secretarial job in California. Jackie is excited to move and start fresh, building a better life for Darrell near family.

Darrell’s mother is warm and attentive. She makes him food that he loves and asks thoughtful questions about his day. Though Darrell tries to hide how much he is struggling, his mom notices that he is preoccupied and worries about what he isn’t telling her. She is incredibly proud of him when he joins the wrestling team and supports his growing confidence. She feels indebted to Uncle Jason and hopes that he can provide guidance to Darrell as he grows.

Jackie represents some of the indirect stakes of Tyray’s bullying. Darrell feels that he must keep his torment secret because he doesn’t want to disappoint his mom or crush her excitement about their new life. Moreover, he feels ashamed to give up her hard-earned money to Tyray. When Darrell faces his bully, he is doing it on behalf of his mom as much as himself.

Amberlynn, a well-liked cheerleader at Bluford high, is Darrell’s romantic interest. When Darrell first meets her in the grocery store, Amberlynn talks to him in a friendly way, giving Darrell hope that he will find his social footing at Bluford. Despite her warmth outside of school, Amberlynn pays little attention to Darrell in school, worried about damaging her reputation because of his low status. Whenever interacting with Darrell threatens her social rank, she ignores him or overtly disavows him. For example, when Tyray harasses Amberlynn about liking Darrell, she claims that she doesn’t like him at all even though she does. Later, Amberlynn feels extremely guilty about failing to stand up to Tyray.

Over the course of the story, Darrell and Amberlynn develop feelings for one another. As they grow in maturity and self-confidence, they also develop the ability to admit their feelings to one another: Darrell asks Amberlynn to dance, and she tells him that she’d been hoping he would ask.

Uncle Jason is a quasi-father figure for Darrell, who sees it as his duty to teach Darrell the things that his own father no longer can. Some of Uncle Jason’s influence is positive: He helps Darrell’s mom find a better job and sets up an apartment for her and Darrell in their duplex. However, Uncle Jason also has damaging ideas about how to best go about Defining Being a Man, making comments about Darrell’s diminutive stature, encouraging his sons to physically fight to resolve their differences, reminiscing about his own high school days bullying a team member, and generally seeing wielding power as the only proxy of masculinity. Uncle Jason’s unsolicited advice only makes Darrell feel more helpless and defeated.

Uncle Jason is a dynamic character who grows as his relationship with Darrell deepens. As Darrell intervenes in his older cousin Travis bullying his younger cousin Nate, Uncle Jason realizes that Darrell’s approach is right. Ignoring Travis’s actions is only making him into a tormentor. Uncle Jason comes to respect Darrell’s moral fortitude and has the self-awareness and humility to admit that he needs to change his own approach to parenting his boys.

Travis and Nate are Darrell’s cousins and the two sons of Uncle Jason. Travis is older than Nate and exhibits some of the same bullying behaviors that Tyray shows toward Darrell. Travis wrestles and restrains his brother, destroys his toys, and humiliates him. Travis knows how to manipulate his father and changes his tack as soon as Uncle Jason arrives on the scene, claiming that he did nothing wrong and that Darrell intimidated him. Because of his own experience getting bullied, Darrell recognizes this dynamic for what it is and steps in to protect Nate. Eventually, Uncle Jason recognizes that Darrell’s assessment of the situation is correct and vows to change how he interacts with his sons.

Darrell desperately misses Malik, his best friend from Philadelphia, which whom Darrell can truly be vulnerable. The day before he leaves, Darrell cries, and Malik comforts him. Though Darrell is small and Malik is a tall, strong football player, Malik looks out for Darrell, protects him from being picked on, and values their friendship. Darrell feels safe around Malik; without him, Darrell feels lonely, exposed, and vulnerable. As Darrell grows more confident and self-assured, stepping in to protect his younger cousin, he begins to behave more like Malik.

Rodney is one of Tyray’s friends and his most vocal crony. Rodney follows whatever Tyray does, eager to impress the gang’s ringleader. Rodney helps restrain Darrell, adding to Tyray’s strength; he and the rest of Tyray’s buddies outnumber and gang up on Darrell—and presumably Tyray’s other victims. Rodney also serves as a lookout, noticing Darrell and pointing out his activities to Tyray: It is Rodney who spots Darrell dancing with Amberlynn and reports it to Tyray, leading to the vicious confrontation in the bathroom.

Harold is a quiet and kind ninth grader at Bluford. Darrell assumes that because Harold nods at him on the first day of school but then quickly becomes avoidant, this means that Harold does not want to be friends. However, Harold’s grandmother tells Darrell that Harold is actually incredibly shy—most likely, his nod is as friendly a gesture as he feels comfortable making. When Darrell agrees to try to become Harold’s friend, the boys bond and laugh together. Harold is inspired by Darrell’s success on the wrestling team; he wonders if he should join too, agrees to come to the dance, and even talks to a girl that he likes.

Kevin is a junior and is the best wrestler on the Bluford team. At first, Darrell is intimidated by Kevin, but he discovers that Kevin is friendly, supportive, and honest. Kevin tells Darrell about how nervous he was for his first match and reassures Darrell that nobody expects him to be an expert wrestler immediately. Alongside Coach Lewis, Kevin helps establish a safe, growth-oriented atmosphere on the wrestling team, where players can fail and be buoyed by their teammates. Kevin steps up and has Darrell’s back when Darrell fights Tyray in the cafeteria and appears interested in being Darrell’s friend moving forward.

Darrell thinks poorly of teachers who ignore the social dynamics of their classroom, but his English teacher, Mr. Mitchell, wins Darrell’s respect when he moves Tyray to the front of the room, rescuing Darrell from a bullying situation without embarrassing him. When Mr. Mitchell reaches out to Darrell about the bullying, Darrell takes Mr. Mitchell up on the offer to talk, trusting that Mr. Mitchell will not make the situation worse. Mr. Mitchell is nuanced in his approach: He sees that punishing Tyray will only escalate the situation but resolves to monitor it anyway; he gives Darrell the useful advice to develop resilience, recommending Gary Paulsen’s classic young adult novel Hatchet to show Darrell—and readers—a model of inner strength and resolve.

Darrell’s wrestling coach, Coach Lewis, teaches Darrell a valuable strategy: that sometimes it takes Smarts Versus Strength to defeat an opponent. Darrell uses this insight in his eventual fight with Tyray. Coach Lewis also shows Darrell how to develop his physical abilities, building strength, confidence, and determination. Unlike Uncle Jason, however, he never shames Darrell for being small or inexperienced. Instead, Coach Lewis reinforces the lessons Darrell learned from Mr. Mitchell—pushing him to never give up in a match even when he has been overpowered. The coach becomes a trusted authority figure in Darrell’s life and helps him grow into the young adult he becomes at the end of the novel.