Little Peggy

Peggy is a young girl in the first part of the book and her grandfather sometimes calls her Margaret or Maggie. She is slight, smart, observant, and considers herself a bit wicked. Peggy carries around her doll Bugy wherever she goes and it seems to be her only friend besides her grandfather, Oldpappy. Despite her young age, Peggy is already an outsider in her community because of her ability to read people's innermost thoughts as well as see both past and future actions and consequences.

Peggy's father frequently hits her on the thighs with a hazel rod and calls her wicked, which causes her to retreat inward and withdraw from others. She believes that she is wicked because of her father and the community's reaction to her ability. As she grows up, Peggy becomes a reclusive, angry person who is bitter at her path in life. Despite...