He (Characters)

Characters

Brother

Mrs. Whipple’s brother comes to visit with his family, comprised of her brother’s wife and “two great roaring hungry boys.” Mrs. Whipple wants her brother to believe that her family is doing well financially, so she fixes a grand dinner for him and his family. She appears to have convinced him, or at least he is smart enough to reassure her with the statement: “This looks like prosperity all right,” after finishing the meal. The statement is so obvious and loaded with irony, however, that the brother may well have been aware that his sister was trying to impress him. Mr. Whipple is not as assured that the brother believed the pretense, but Mrs. Whipple is convinced that her brother could not see their poverty. The scene with Mrs. Whipple’s brother is brief, but it is used to show at what length Mrs. Whipple will go to avoid anyone thinking that she is poor or feeling sorry for her.

Adna Whipple

Adna is the oldest son of the Whipples. At the end of the story, Adna leaves home to take a job in a grocery store in town, believing that anything would be better than living under the poor conditions at home. Adna is more fearful than his brother, He, and Mrs. Whipple calls Adna an “old fraidy” because he won’t go into the pigpen to take the piglet away from the sow. All that is known about Adna other than this is that he is smaller than He and attends school like other normal children. Adna and his sister, Emly, are used in contrast to He, to emphasize the trouble the Whipples have in taking care of him. At one point, Mrs. Whipple makes reference to Adna’s intelligence, believing that it is sad that one of her sons is so strong and the other one is so smart, implying that she wished the two sons had been combined into one.

Emly Whipple

Emly is the only daughter in the Whipple home. Her age is not divulged but toward the end of the story, her mother comments that she is old enough to take a job in a small cafe in town, although she is still in school. Little is said about Emly in the story accept that she is more like other children around her than her brother, He, and that she sometimes whines for food. It is insinuated that Emly and Adna are sometimes more trouble than He because they have normal emotions.

He Whipple

He is the second son of the Whipples. He is mute and mentally disadvantaged. It is not known if the Whipples ever name their son because throughout the story the boy is only referred to as He. He is ten years old at the beginning of the story, is larger than his older brother, and his mother prizes him because he appears to be without fear or any other emotion. Mrs. Whipple takes advantage of this apparent characteristic and makes him do all the hard work around the farm, as well as depriving him of warm clothes and blankets during the winter.

He does as he is told without vocalizing any complaints. Because of this trait, his mother believes he has no feelings. Despite the fact that he demonstrates his feelings through physical gestures, his mother takes no notice until the final scene in the story when she is taking him to a nursing home to live. It is at the end of the story that his mother becomes fully aware of him as a person, but she quickly dismisses this revelation because she must rationalize not taking care of him anymore.

Mr. Whipple

Mr. Whipple is not a quiet man, but he does often acquiesce to his wife after stating his mind. He is more rational than Mrs. Whipple, who seems to live in a dream world. He is also a very practical man, realizing how extravagant it is to kill a suckling pig, as well as knowing when and how his family must economize in order to make ends meet.

It is also Mr. Whipple who convinces Mrs. Whipple that the best thing they can do for He, when his health declines, is to send him away to the hospital. Mr. Whipple is not at all concerned about the appearance of things, as is his wife. For instance, when Mrs. Whipple is concerned that sending their son to the sanitarium is the same thing as accepting charity, Mr. Whipple reminds her that they pay taxes just like everyone else in order to use the facilities.

Mrs. Whipple

Mrs. Whipple is the protagonist of the story. It is through her eyes that the story is told. Mrs. Whipple is all about appearances. She is constantly concerned about what her neighbors will think about her and her family. She does not put on airs, but she is obsessed with cleanliness and assuring everyone that she loves her children, especially He.

Mrs. Whipple believes that her husband always looks at life through very darkly colored glasses. Whenever he brings up the truth about their poverty, she chastises him. She does not want him to ever make mention to any of the other farmers that they are in need, such as when Mr. Whipple barters with a neighbor to have his cow impregnated in exchange for fodder, thus avoiding the exchange of cash, which the Whipples have in short supply.

Mrs. Whipple rarely expresses her true emotions. When she does, she seems confused by them and often feels badly about having admitted them. For instance, she often beats He out of frustration and then dismisses it because she wants to believe that He has no feelings. There is an undercurrent in everything that Mrs. Whipple says that hints at her dislike of her son and the burden he causes her. She tries desperately to hide this fact from other people around her as well as from herself. It is not until the end of the story that she realizes that He does have emotions. However, by this time, she is taking him to a sanitarium, and although she cradles him in her arms because both He and she are crying, she also feels a burden about to be lifted from her shoulders. In the end, she admits to herself that she wishes he had never been born.