The Sweet Hereafter | Teaching Key Figures

Character Descriptions

This section provides a short description of all the major characters in the book. This can be printed out as a study guide for students, used as a "key" for leading a class discussion, or you can jump to the quiz/homework section to find worksheets that incorporate these descriptions into a variety of question formats.

Characters

Billy Ansel - This character is a widower and Vietnam veteran whose twins are killed in the bus accident that is the novel's central event.

Mrs. Burnell - This character is passive, religious, self-righteous, and generally avoids dealing with difficult issues in a direct manner.

Nichole Burnell - This character is a fourteen-year-old girl who is confined to a wheelchair after surviving the bus accident.

Sam Burnell - This character is domineering in his family but friendly to others and has been sexually abusing his daughter but nobody else knows about it.

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