'Crooked River Burning': Character Analysis

In Crooked River Burning by Mark Winegardner David grows up seeing both good and bad around him each and every day. David will be affected by the people around him in ways that might not always be apparent at a glance. Stan Betty and David are the main three characters in the beginning of the novel for good reason. They will have the the greatest influence on David until his late teen years. Stan and Betty live next door to David’s old house leading to David seeing Mikey every once in a while. During David’s time living with his aunt and uncle he resists calling the two his parents. Although he doesn’t say it he knows that they are the closest thing to parents that he has. This will change later in the novel when David calls Mikey

Their on-again, off again will be a constant topic throughout the story. The two immediately hit it off the night they meet at Sandusky. The two have good chemistry and conversation flows easily, “It was never like this with Irene. It was never like this with any of the boys Anne had dated” (79). The two would constantly see each other around the city, “In retrospect, she was bound to run into David Zielinsky somewhere” (188). This is a foreseeable effect of their chosen lines of work. The reporter and politician re-ignite their romance nearly every time they meet. even once David has three children and his law office he is still not satisfied, leading him to have an affair with Anne on his boat. During these affairs David rarely thinks about the possible repercussions. Irene always seems like an afterthought although she constantly supports David and his decisions. She feels neglected at times and sees that David never seems to care that Irene is constantly bothered, and does not care to find out what is bothering her. Irene is a static character, but even static characters can play a big role in leading to the decisions that main characters