Characters In Summerland, By Michael Chabon

Every story has the one character who may stand out from the group and act slightly different from the rest. They may have some peculiar thoughts, but by the end, they play an important role in developing the plot of the story. In Summerland, by Michael Chabon, the author created Thor Wignutt, the unusual character of the story. At the beginning of the novel, Thor and Ethan Feld and Jennifer T. Rideout aren’t the best of friends. Ethan and Jennifer T. know how intelligent Thor is, and they need him in order to continue to travel between the worlds. Thor Wignutt may seem like the average eleven year old boy, but Michael Chabon made sure that his character had a much deeper meaning. Throughout the story, the author makes many references to people and settings from Norse Mythology and Native American Folklore. In the case of Thor Wignutt, he is very similar to the Norse Mythology god Thor. Of course their names are exactly the same, but there is more meaning behind their personalities. When Thor is traveling between the worlds, he discovers that he is a changeling with special powers. Thor makes an incredible jump to the Far Territories when, “He stood up on the seat and hund his head

They would do anything to beat the giants and get closer to reaching Ragged Rock. Just like Thor Wignutt, but on a bigger scale, “Thor loved nothing more than killing giants. He road in his chariot pulled by two goats, holding Mjolnir high, ever on the lookout for someone to smash,” (Napoli 86). Even though Thor Wignutt never wanted to kill the giants, both characters needed to defeat them in order to continue on their journey. They both had the strength and determination to attempt to defeat a creature almost ten times their size. Michael Chabon most likely put this in the story to show how Thor Wignutt became a good leader and to prove why he was an asset to their baseball