Mark's Friends

Mark's friends, while not main characters, are important in their supporting roles. Also, they all have rather interesting personalities.

Daniel was Mark's best friend when he was a child. Daniel loves animals and nature far more than humans. He wishes for "people to be as selfless as they should be, humbled by the million supporting links that kept them alive, as generous with others as nature was with them" (54). Although he hasn't truly been friends with Mark since a falling-out they had in high school, he supports Karin and helps to keep her strong as she tries to nurse Mark back to health.

Tommy Rupp and Duane Cain are Mark's current "buddies". They were a part a group in high school "that would take him in because he passed the simple audition of failing to fit in anywhere else-the group of losers that freed him" (25). Both of these men are rather eccentric in nature such as the way Duane has "tattoos...of red muscles stung onto his hairless chest, as detailed and realistic as an anatomy text" (27). They also have a kind of "easy come, easy go" attitude where they easily brush off the concerns and anger of others. When they visit Mark in the hospital, they are always upbeat and act as though they are on a normal visit to hang out with their friend, just like before the accident. Mark always seems to make outstanding improvements whenever they come around, such as a boost in his mechanical movements by playing catch with them shortly after coming out of his coma.

Bonnie Travis is a close female friend of Mark's. Their relationship is rather unclear as in the past Mark had told Karin that "even if she was [his woman], she wouldn't realize it" (38). Bonnie is a generally perky and happy girl, who talks almost incessantly about anything and everything. She also does a lot to aid in Mark's recovery simply by talking to him and trying to get him to fill in parts of nursery rhymes and other little sayings, to spark his memory and help him reestablish connections to things he once knew. However, she also has an anxious and worried side that she shows to Karin. She "[tries her] hardest to be up"(41) in Mark's presence, but once she leaves his hospital room, she sometimes breaks down.

Each and every one of these characters is vital to the way that both Mark and his sister, as well as their relationship to each other, develop through the story. Their actions and interactions have profound affects on both of the main characters.