The Young Man from Atlanta (Characters)

Characters

Carson

Carson arrives in Houston and tells Pete that he is his great-nephew. Carson is responsible for exposing what he claims to be the lies that Randy has told to Lily Dale about Bill. Primarily, he tells her that, having known Randy for his entire life, he is certain that Randy has no living relatives and that Randy's claim about Bill's religious fervor is false. Carson tells Pete and the Kidders that he lived in the same boardinghouse with Bill and Randy and that no one ever heard Bill praying and that Randy is "bad news." The Kidders and Pete believe Carson not only about Randy but about his claim to be Pete's great nephew. All of this comes into question, however, at the end of the play when Lily Dale has a final conversation with Randy. According to Randy, Carson is "known as a notorious liar all over Atlanta." This revelation, which may or may not be true, becomes interesting in light of the fact that Pete "wouldn't have recognized" his own sister in the picture that Carson brought to Houston and the fact that Carson and his sister stand to benefit financially from Carson's newly formed relationship with Pete. Carson says that he is twenty-seven years old.

Clara

Clara is the Kidders' maid and cook. She serves as Lily Dale's confidante throughout the play, offering her reassurance and comfort. As the Kidders' domestic help, Clara must also have direct contact with Randy Carter when he comes to call at the Kidder home. In all cases, Clara is asked to tell Randy that the Kidders will not see him — that they are busy or not at home. At Lily Dale's request, Clara also does research for Lily Dale about the Disappointment Clubs that Lily Dale believes Eleanor Roosevelt established in Houston during the war because of her dislike for the South. Clara's friend, Lucille, confirms that she had heard about the clubs but that she was not involved in them and did not know about Mrs. Roosevelt's participation in them. The 1950s were a politically and socially charged time in the United States due to the issue of civil rights for blacks. The characters of Clara and Etta Doris, along with Lily Dale's persistent inquiry into the Disappointment Clubs, play an important role in exposing one slice of life perspective on the day-to-day happenings between blacks and whites during this time.

Ted Cleveland, Jr.

Ted Cleveland Jr. is Will Kidder and Tom Jackson's boss at the Sunshine Southern Wholesale Grocery. Ted's father originally hired Will, and together they grew the company through the depression and World War II. Following the death of his father, Ted took over the company. Not much of Ted is seen in the play; however, his actions reflect his desire to prevent his father's company from failing. Despite Will Kidder's loyalty to his father and the company for nearly forty years, Ted lets Will go for what appears to be performance issues with at least one of the company's largest accounts, Carnation Milk. Although Sunshine loses the Carnation account because of Will, Ted gives him three-month's notice and later extends an offer to him for another, albeit lower-ranking, position with the company. Ted appoints Tom to Will's previous position because he feels that more youthful leadership will be a boon for his family's company.

Pete Davenport

Pete Davenport is Lily Dale's stepfather. He is originally from Atlanta; however, he has lived in Houston for thirty years. Pete's wife (Lily Dale's mother) passed away ten years prior and Pete has just come to live with Will and Lily Dale. Through Pete's conversation with Carson, who claims to be Pete's great-nephew, the audience learns that Pete was a Southern Pacific Engineer and that he began working at the age of fourteen with just a seventh grade education. Pete says that he never had a drink in his life, and he appears to be a respectable, hardworking, honest man. He helps Lily Dale navigate her communication with Will about her financial dishonesty. Nonetheless, toward the end of the play, Lily Dale confides in Will that her two cousins, Mary Cunningham and Mabel Thornton, claim that Pete made passes at them while he was married to Lily Dale's mother. Likewise, although Pete appears to have sound judgment in his counsel to Lily Dale, his judgment about Carson is called into question by Randy Carter's claims that Carson is a known liar throughout Atlanta. Early in the play, Pete tells Will that Randy is certainly not a relation of his from Atlanta, even a distant one. If he were, Pete claims that he would recognize a likeness in him. Later, however, when Carson arrives in Houston with a picture of Pete's sister (Carson's grandmother), Pete says that he "wouldn't have recognized her." Pete's lack of recognition does two things. First, it calls into question whether or not Randy may be a distant relative of Pete's. Second, it calls into question whether or not Carson is truly his great-nephew or someone who is simply playing Pete for a gullible old fool.

Etta Doris

Etta Doris is a past domestic employee of the Kidders. She comes by the Kidders' new house to see the family and to express her condolences regarding Bill's death. Through Etta's remembrances and conversations with Lily Dale and Will, the audience learns more about Bill as a child. She remembers him fondly as a friendly and polite boy, who despite his father's attempts, was not athletic.

Tom Jackson

Tom is Will Kidder's coworker at the Sunshine Southern Wholesale Grocery who is given Will's job after Will is let go from the company. Foote describes Tom in the scene's opening description as a thirty-five year old "colleague and close friend" of Will's. Will hired and trained Tom and obviously feels close to him professionally and personally. In the opening scene, Will confides in Tom, telling him that he believes that his son's death was a suicide. Will also tells Tom that he thinks of him as a son. Tom demonstrates loyalty to Will when he tells him that their boss told him that there was nothing Tom could do to save Will's job. Tom brings flowers to Will after his heart attack, and despite his previous relationship with Tom, Will admits to his family that he has hard feelings for Tom. Nevertheless, in the end, Tom is the person whom Will contacts about possibly coming back to resume a new position with Sunshine Southern Wholesale Grocery.

Lily Dale Kidder

Lily Dale is one of the main characters in The Young Man from Atlanta. She is the wife of Will Kidder and the mother of Bill Kidder, their deceased son. She is also Pete Davenport's stepdaughter. In the wake of her son's death she is said to have become religious. Lily Dale's primary action in the play takes place offstage when she has secret meetings with Randy Carter, Bill's former roommate from Atlanta. During these meetings, Lily Dale gives the young man $35,000, money that she received as Christmas gifts from her husband. Lily Dale meets with Randy behind her husband's back and ultimately has to confess to the meetings, as well as to the amount of the financial gifts that she has given to Randy. Lily Dale's main moral dilemma revolves around her need to feel close to someone who professes to have been very close to her son and her need to be a dutiful and honest wife. Lily Dale has been financially well taken care of by her husband and appears to some readers and critics to be a spoiled housewife who is both gullible and naïve. In his review for the New York Times, critic Ben Brantley characterizes Lily Dale as "a woman frozen in the role of petulant, spoiled child bride." Despite the couple's dire financial situation, one of her main concerns during the play is to figure out if Eleanor Roosevelt was responsible for organizing civil disobedience among the domestic workers in Houston during World War II. In the end, Lily Dale comes to some understanding about their financial reality and offers to take up teaching music to contribute to the household's income. In another turnabout, Lily Dale puts her husband above her own needs when she sends Randy away, presumably ending her relationship with him.

Will Kidder

Will Kidder is one of the main characters in The Young Man from Atlanta. He is the father of Bill Kidder, who dies prior to the play beginning, and is the husband of Lily Dale. At the opening of the play, Will works for the Sunshine Southern Wholesale Grocery, a company he has been with for thirty-eight years. In the first scene, he is let go from the company and rejects his superior's offer to stay for another three months. Instead, Will says he will leave the company immediately so that he can start his own business venture. Having just finished building and furnishing a $200,000 home, Will finds himself hard pressed for cash and asks his wife to give him back some of the money that he has gifted to her over the years. In the unfolding events, Will learns that she has no longer has the full amount because she has given it to their son's exroommate, Randy Carter. Lily Dale's actions are an affront to Will, not only because he has developed a strong inclination against Randy but because her actions were dishonest and contrary to his repeated requests that she not have contact with the young man.

Will is a proud and boastful man, who grew up in an impoverished life after the death of his father and vowed to only have the best of everything. In the beginning of the play, sixty-four year old Will believes that he is invincible — financially, professionally, and personally. As the play unfolds, however, the audience watches as he comes to face some difficult truths. Eventually, Will realizes that, instead of spending his personal assets, he should have saved more of them. He also comes to terms with the fact that, at his age, his marketable skills and professional prospects are not what they used to be. Lastly, Will must confront the fact that his son's suspected suicide is likely linked to a lifestyle involving Randy that Will never wants to know about. While Foote never makes the statement outright, Will's reluctance to meet with Randy seems based in his belief that his son was gay. In the end, Will regains a bit of his earlier optimism, telling Lily Dale, "everything will be all right." While hopeful, even this final statement is measured by Will's new understanding of himself and his current realities.

MEDIA ADAPTATIONS

• The Young Man from Atlanta is available on audiocassette. The unabridged reading, which stars Shirley Knight and David Selby, was published in 1999 by L.A. Theater Works. This reading can be downloaded from http://www.audible.com or purchased through online or local booksellers.