Boys Don't Cry: Characters (WJEC Eduqas GCSE English Literature): Revision Note

Boys Don't Cry: characters

In your exam, you may be expected to focus on a certain theme or particular character in the questions you are given. To best answer these, it is important that you understand the stories of each of the text’s important characters, considering what the author, Malorie Blackman, does with them that has an impact on the story and how they are perceived by the audience. 

With social commentary a key aspect of Blackman’s novel, it is important to understand how the characters reflect the themes and messages that she is presenting with her work. Understanding the way they respond to the situations they are in and the intentions of the author for them will help you to answer any of these exam questions to the best of your ability. 

Below you will find profiles of:

• Dante Bridgeman

• Adam Bridgeman

• Tyler Bridgeman

• Josh

• Logan

• Aunt Jackie

• Melanie

Dante Bridgeman

• Dante is a 17-year-old British boy, and the protagonist of the novel:

  • Dante lives at home with his younger brother Adam and his father, Tyler

  • Their mother died many years ago

• Dante has recently finished his A-Level exams and is looking forward to going to university:

  • He dreams of studying history and then moving into journalism to become a serious investigative journalist

• Dante is intelligent, aiming for four A-stars at A Level, and is known for being smart and responsible:

  • During the events of the book, other characters insinuate that he is known for being smart

  • His father suggests that Adam, not Dante, is the one he would expect dramatic events from

• Dante is shocked when Melanie turns up at his house with a child that is revealed to be his daughter:

  • They had dated, but not spoken for over a year, so Dante missed the whole pregnancy

  • Dante is not the only one shocked; his family and friends are also shocked both at the surprise and also because Dante is not the “type” to have something like this happen

• Dante has friends in the area, and looks to be heading to the same university as Collette, with whom he has some sort of romantic relationship

• At the start, Dante is incredibly reluctant to be a father and to bond with Emma at all:

  • As someone driven by his intelligence and dreams of success, he looks to push this drama aside and find any way to continue with his university and career dreams

  • He calls Emma ‘it’ for a while, and does not have the paternal and caring instincts that his father and brother show

• Dante redeems himself for these earlier errors by growing into a doting, proud and protective father to Emma:

  • As he spends more time with her, he falls in love with his daughter and becomes a devoted dad

• This theme continues as he begins to redeem himself with Adam, too:

  • Early in the story, he makes comments about Adam keeping his sexuality hidden and suggests that being gay might just be a phase

  • Later on, he stands up for his brother against Josh and Logan

  • Whilst his physical actions show a desire to defend his brother, he recovers from the trauma of the attack by showing love and patience to Adam

• Showing emotion is difficult for all three men of the Bridgeman family, and we see the progress they all make with this as the story evolves:

  • Showing love and patience to his dad and his brother helps Dante to raise his daughter, as he learns to appreciate what they have been through and what they do for him

• Whilst the events of the story are scary and traumatic, both Emma’s arrival and the attack on Adam bring the family together:

  • All three had grown apart, but are forced to rely on each other with a baby in the house and with Adam nearly dying on two occasions

  • We are shown all three struggle to hold conversations or find common ground, but the end of the book sees them laughing as a family in a way that they would never have done at the start

• At the start of the story, Dante’s biggest fear is being stuck with Emma and losing the life he had planned:

  • By the end of the story, Dante’s biggest fear is losing Emma and having to live a life without his daughter

Adam Bridgeman

• Adam is a 16-year-old British boy and Dante’s younger brother

• Whereas Dante prides himself on his intelligence and sensible nature, Adam is far more charismatic and takes himself and life less seriously

• Adam wants to be an actor, and is confident in his charm, looks and poise:

  • He refuses to have an alternative, because a backup plan means some part of him thinks he could fail

• Whereas Dante exudes more intensity, Adam seems relaxed with who he is:

  • He makes quips, ignores the negativity of his family, and is an extrovert

• Adam is gay, and is comfortable with it:

  • This contrasts with his dad and brother, both of whom prefer to ignore his sexuality 

  • Whilst not abusive or directly insulting, his family show clear signs of homophobia:

    • Adam challenges them, refusing to be anything but who he is

• Adam’s confidence and positive help immediately with Emma:

  • He instantly shows her love and is eager to be around her

• Adam is jealous of Dante, both before Emma and after:

  • He is frustrated by the idea that Dante is seen as the smart one

  • He is also jealous that Dante, even at his age, gets to have a daughter as he expects that, as a gay man, he is unlikely to have children

• Adam is scared of doctors and hospitals:

  • This comes from seeing his mother die in hospital with cervical cancer

  • He hates not just what happened to her, but the memories of how unhappy she was being stuck in hospital, rather than being allowed at home in her own surroundings 

• At the start of the story, Adam is struggling with headaches after being hit in the head during an unnamed cricket match:

  • This injury fades into the background as life with the Bridgemans gets more hectic and dramatic

  • Eventually, he collapses, luckily in a hospital, with a life-threatening head injury (a subdural haematoma)

• Adam enters into a secret relationship with Dante’s friend, Josh:

  • He likes Josh a lot, but does not like the fact that Josh is not only ashamed of him, but he’s ashamed of himself for being gay, too

  • Eventually, after many nights sneaking out and not telling anyone where he’s going, Adam can no longer handle being Josh’s hate-filled secret and dumps him

• After their breakup, Josh verbally abuses Adam in public, using homophobic slurs:

  • Adam and Dante are then jumped by Josh, Logan and Paul on their way home

  • Adam is beaten badly, kicked in the face and head repeatedly, and given life-threatening injuries

• The attack leaves Adam in hospital for weeks, and with lifelong injuries:

  • His right eye is drooping, he has multiple facial scars, and loses 50% of the vision in his right eye, as well as having no peripheral vision on that side

• Once home, Adam is a completely changed person:

  • He is now a recluse, staying in his room and refusing any company

  • Once proud and dedicated to his appearance, Adam now removes every reflective surface from his room

  • He falls into depression, hating how he looks and that the future he has dreamed of is now, in his mind, an impossibility 

• Adam attempts suicide after a letter from Josh leaves him overwhelmed:

  • A hug from Emma is his breaking point, as he feels like a monster who can never have anything in his life like Dante has with Emma

• After returning home from hospital after this, Adam heads back to his room, but is drawn out by Dante’s love and kindness:

  • With Dante, Emma and his father showing him love, Adam realises what he has

  • Adam, like Dante, is saved from despair by the love of his family

Tyler Bridgeman

• Tyler is Dante and Adam’s father, a single parent since the death of his wife to cancer:

  • Tyler is 39-years-old, meaning he became a father in his early twenties

• Tyler is a man uncomfortable with expressing positive emotions and showing vulnerability:

  • He loves his sons, but doesn’t tell them

  • He is not heavily involved in their lives, not really knowing any of their friends and what his children get up to:

    • This is evidenced by the fact he assumes Adam was injured in a football match, showing he doesn’t pay attention to what his children do, as it was actually a cricket match

• He is much quicker with negative feedback, fast to admonish his children and is also outwardly negative about their relationship:

  • He complains that the boys do not like him and try to push him out of their lives

  • He doesn’t praise Dante’s achievements, but is quick to criticise him when the opportunity arises

• As a young father, Tyler’s life was changed and his dreams put on hold:

  • It is hinted at throughout the book that the reason Tyler is harsh on his children is because he does not want them to make the mistakes he did

  • He was in his early twenties and not yet married when Dante was conceived by mistake

  • This is why he is so disappointed in Dante having a daughter irresponsibly, because he sees the son who looked to have a bright future now stuck like he was

• Tyler seems harsh, but adapts quickly to the situation and dotes over Emma:

  • He immediately goes out and buys essentials for his granddaughter

  • He spends too much, and is a little bit embarrassed that he did so because he was excited to look after his grandchild

• Dante doesn’t notice it, but Tyler is there for him:

  • He does not go into work on many occasions to help his son, seeing his anxiety and reacting to it

  • He calls home every hour, which Dante finds slightly annoying, but shows his dedication to his sons and to Emma

• He forces Dante to face the reality of his situation:

  • Dante does not appreciate it, but his father is right

• When Aunt Jackie comes into the story, we see that there were problems in Tyler’s marriage:

  • Jackie reveals that she and her sister, Tyler’s wife, believed that Tyler resented her and Dante for the unwanted pregnancy

  • Jackie believes that Tyler didn’t love her sister, and just stayed for the kids

  • This hurts Tyler, who believes he loved her and still does

  • Tyler begins to realise that his inability to express emotions not only made his wife upset, but is now hurting his children, too

• After Jackie criticises him for never showing his love to the kids, Tyler tells Dante he loves him and he’s proud of him:

  • Once he does this, their relationship quickly starts to improve and is strong by the end of the story

• The ending of the story, with the family together, is far removed from the start where Dante is alone, and Adam is forced into the doctor’s surgery by his father, who doesn’t know why he is injured

• What doesn’t change is that Tyler is always motivated to care for his children:

  • He drops work to help Dante, and he goes to the doctor with Adam even though he is old enough to do so himself

  • Bitter comments about the boys growing away from him show that Tyler has been hurt by his sons no longer being close to him

• Tyler’s growth comes from realising that openly showing emotion has caused the strained relationship with his children, and that change can bring the family together

Emma

• Emma is Dante and Melanie’s baby girl

• When we meet her, she is 11 months old and has been raised, to this point, solely by her mother

• She is presented as a pretty regular baby, and maybe a bit on the easier side as she seems comfortable with her new family very quickly, doesn’t struggle too much with sleep, and is easily calmed when upset

• Within the family, Emma is the catalyst for a complete change in how Tyler, Dante and Adam treat each other:

  • By facing the challenges of raising Emma, Dante is brought closer with Tyler

  • Dante also starts to have empathy and understanding for what his dad has done for him

  • She helps Adam to see past his injuries, as he realises that she loves him regardless and doesn’t care about his looks

• Over the timeline of the story, Emma learns to speak and walk:

  • She is very affectionate, crying when anyone in the family is angry, and quickly calmed by being shown love

  • She regularly asks for cuddles from Dante and Adam, and wants to kiss people better when they are sad

Josh

• Josh is a 17-year-old British boy who goes to school with Dante

• Josh is known for being mean and rude, making consistently offensive views and comments:

  • Josh is easily antagonised by Logan, who seems to enjoy doing it

• Adam questions why Dante is friends with him, and Dante seems a bit confused:

  • He recognises that, years ago, they first met as Josh stood up for Dante against school bullies

• Josh is gay, but keeps it secret and hates himself for it:

  • When dating Adam, he won’t let anyone know and keeps it all secret

• Before they date, Josh is outwardly homophobic towards him and does not seem to care who hears

• After Adam breaks up with him, Josh is furious and shows increased, open aggression towards him:

  • The same night he first threatens Adam, he then attacks him in the street, committing such violence that he is charged with GBH under Section 18 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861:

    • This is the charge of non-fatal violent assault, which includes having the intent to do harm from the outset, rather than just being reckless

• Josh goes on the run afterwards, hiding with different people until Dante finds him:

  • Josh does not fight back against Dante, showing contrition and guilt

  • Once he speaks to Dante, he changes his mind and turns himself in

• He writes to Adam before he goes to court, expecting to go to prison:

  • He is apologetic and ashamed of himself, shocked by his violence

  • He recognises that his acts mean he has lost everyone, with friends and family shunning him, in the way he feared they would if he came out

• Josh represents an opposing type of homosexuality to Adam:

  • Whilst Adam is confident, stylish, and friends with more girls than boys, Josh hides his sexuality, is mostly friends with other boys, and appears to value more classically and stereotypically masculine traits like aggression, violence and power

  • Where Adam is proud, Josh feels shame

• The author may have used the character of Josh to show how teenage boys, especially at the time of writing, were more comfortable being homophobic:

  • He is not ostracised for his views or for his insulting and abusive comments

  • He only loses friends after his assaults Adam

Logan

• Logan, as well as Paul, make up the other boys in Dante’s friendship group

• Logan is rude, immature and unpleasant

• Logan seems to enjoy antagonising Josh:

  • He also seems to have some awareness of Josh’s sexuality, commenting on occasions when Josh is around Adam and giving knowing looks

• Paul claims that Logan was the real villain of the assault on Adam:

  • Whilst he only held down and attacked Dante, Logan was the true instigator of the attack on Adam by Josh

• In the end, Dante doesn’t go after Logan, realising he has more important things to focus on than violent revenge

• Logan and Josh are a contrast to how Dante grows up in the story:

  • Whilst boys like Josh and Logan don’t grow up or better themselves, Dante does

Aunt Jackie

• Jackie is Dante and Adam’s aunt, and their mum’s sister

• She is described as “vinegar” in comparison to her sister being like “honey”

• When she first appears, it seems Dante is not particularly fond of her:

  • Tyler is also colder around her, and there is a tension between them

• In contrast to how she’s perceived by Dante, Jackie is softer on him than he expects:

  • She makes comments to Tyler about the irresponsible nature of Dante having a daughter, but quickly drops them to reassure her nephew

• Her presence helps the family to act on the changes that Emma and the near-death experiences of Adam bring:

  • She recognises that none of the men in the family talk to each other properly, nor show love outwardly:

• Jackie is not shy in telling the truth:

  • She criticises Tyler for not showing love to her sister, to the boys, and for refusing to acknowledge Adam’s sexuality

• Whilst Emma is the catalyst for change in the story, Jackie’s presence and character pushes it through, telling the three men what is happening and what they clearly need before they realise it themselves

• She is caring and loving, even though the three men do not immediately offer her such warmth back:

  • She is immediately there for Dante, for Adam, and even for Tyler during this time of need

• She confronts Tyler about problems her sister had in her relationship with him:

  • She has held onto his knowledge for a long time, but does not use it as an insult or with judgement, just to be honest when she feels it is needed

• By telling the three of them, and Dante and Tyler specifically, that they need to share their feelings and love for each other, she changes their lives for good

Melanie Dyson

• Melanie is Emma’s mother

• Melanie was in Dante’s year at school and his girlfriend for a short period of time:

  • When she arrives at Dante’s door at the start of the story, it is the first time he has seen her for over a year

• She is struggling and depressed, isolated since she fell pregnant:

  • Melanie was kicked out of her home by her mum and only given a place to live by her aunt with the agreement that she would give Emma up for adoption

• Melanie is a young single parent with no idea how to survive:

  • It is in moments where she worries that she is going to hurt Emma, even though she loves her, that Melanie decides she has to give her up

• She is symbolic of the struggles many young parents face:

  • She is overwhelmed, alone, forced out of education and isolated from friends and family

  • She is treated like a pariah for having a child as a teenager

• Melanie moves “up north” after leaving Emma with Dante

• We hear nothing more from her after chapter 6, when she phones Dante to tell him she is leaving Emma there and not coming back

Sources

Blackman, M. (2010). Boys Don’t Cry. Random House.