Olivia

Olivia is the main character and first-person narrator of “Peach Cobbler” (38). Throughout the story, which spans a portion of Olivia’s childhood and follows her into her high school years, Olivia’s mother is having an affair with the pastor at her church. When she is younger, Olivia believes that the pastor, Reverend Neely, is God. Olivia suffers from a lack of attention from her mother. As she does not know who her father is, has no siblings, and is not allowed to socialize with children her age, she is very isolated.

Olivia is generally a sympathetic character, as she tries to please others and treat them well. At the same time, she is so constrained in her actions because of the oppressive situations she finds herself in that she usually does not have much of an opportunity to confront or disagree with anyone. At first, she attempts...