Who Is Bucky Cantor In 'Nemesis'?

In “Nemesis”, the main character is Bucky Cantor. He was raised by his grandparents. Their influence is seen throughout Bucky’s actions and thoughts throughout the book. The text says, “The grandfather saw to the boy’s masculine development,...to teach the boy that a man’s every endeavor was imbued with responsibility” (Roth 22). These lessons of the grandfather have a lasting impact on Bucky. One instance where the voice of his grandfather speaks in his mind is when he is resigning from the position of playground director so that he can become the waterfront director at Indian Hill. The man in charge of playground directors is called O’Gara, who is disgruntled at Bucky’s resignation. O’Gara’s response leaves Bucky with the feelings expressed in the following passage:

In one passage Bucky reflects that Kenny is,“Unlike most of the other boys, mature in his ability to put emotion aside in matters of winning and losing” (Roth 114). This speaks to Kenny’s comradely discourse, in which he is the calm, cool, and collected leader, that is respected and looked up to. This persona seems to disappear, when he is talking to Mr. Cantor after Alan dies, and he sobs, “All my friends are getting polio! All my friends are going to be cripples or going to be dead!” (114). This outburst demonstrates Kenny’s adolescent discourse, of the young looking to an elder for answers. Later in that same day, Kenny shows yet another side to his nature, when he unexpectedly yells at Horace, saying, “Get him away from me or I’ll kill him!....He’s the one who’s crippling people! He’s the one who’s killing people!” (119). In this excerpt, Kenny demonstrates his emotional discourse. All of these different examples of discourse, make Kenny into a three-dimensional character, a leader who falls into helpless despair without his comrades, and it demonstrates that he is just as flawed as the rest of