Marcus Messner

Marcus Messner is the protagonist of the novel. He is 19 years old and born and raised in Newark, New Jersey. Marcus narrates the novel from the brink of death, under the influence of morphine, although he believes himself to already be dead. As a boy, he worked for his father, who is a kosher butcher. Although he was raised by Jewish parents, Marcus is an atheist. Marcus is highly studious and intelligent and wishes to become a lawyer. After completing one year of college at a small college in Newark, Marcus transfers to Winesburg College in Ohio to escape his father, who has been growing increasingly neurotic and fearful, and maybe even be going insane.

At Winesburg College, Marcus encounters several difficulties in his first weeks. He clashes with his first roommate, Bertram Flusser, who appears to relish making life hard for Marcus. Marcus then transfers to...