The Bags Of Paul Character Analysis

THE DOGS of BABEL by Carolyn Parkhurst is a novel set with grief as well as sadness, but also hope in a way. Although it never told exactly when it took place, the music mentioned was all from the 1960’s. The novel also never says where it takes place, but in the past the the characters have traveled around the United States in a matter of hours so we can tell that the events took place in North America. The first character in the story is Paul Iverson. Paul is our dynamic protagonist in THE DOGS of BABEL. Since the story is told by Paul, we do not get any detail as it what he looks like. Paul is a middle-aged linguistics professor who liked plans, puzzles, and was very educated. More than anything Paul loved his wife, Lexy. Figuring out exactly how Lexy died was

One of his first ideas was to gain information from their dog. “Lorelai is my witness, not just Lexy’s death itself but to all the events leading up to it… I feel i must do whatever i can to unlock that knowledge.”(9). Paul wanted to teach their rhodesian ridgeback, Lorelai, to speak, as she was the only witness to Paul’s beloved wife’s death. The second character was Lexy Ransome. Lexy was, in fact, Paul’s wife that had passed away. Her purpose in the story was to leave behind a puzzle as of to how and why she died. Lexy was described to have brown eyes lighted with flecks of amber, a heart shaped face, and a complex layering of pale gold and honey in her hair. Lexy made masks for a living. Her biggest hit was making masks for the families who had lost loved ones, the masks showed the models for what they were during life, they were authentic. Lexy was extremely loving, passionate, and spontaneous, but, at the same time Lexy was aggressive and heated. She doubted herself in being a mother due to how angry she could so easily become.