Jake, Reinvented

Jake is the protagonist and titular character of the novel. Jake at first appears to be a stereotype of a popular kid. His clothes, behavior, and wild parties attract the attention of the other popular students at F. Scott Fitzgerald High. His suave ability to lie and his social connection to college students give him an air of mystery.

As the novel progresses, Rick begins to see through Jake’s superficial cool-guy exterior. Jake, it turns out, was formerly a smart and nerdy student: a champion chess player and mathlete. His external appearance masks a more dynamic character bent on a single goal: to win the heart of Didi Ray, whom he used to tutor in math. Jake has true romantic feelings for Didi, but he also views her as a prize that represents his wish to cast off his nerdy past and become popular, itself a representation of The American Dream.

Jake goes to extreme efforts to win over Didi, joining the football team to get in with the popular kids, changing his appearance, ghostwriting college essays to make money, throwing huge parties, and even pushing his father to buy a house close to Didi’s school. In his single-minded drive to be with Didi, and his ultimate failure in achieving his dream, Jake becomes a tragic hero. His obsession with Didi make him ignorant to the dangers associated with his parties and blunts his ability to form lasting attachments with anyone else, including Rick. Jake ends the narrative needing to reinvent himself once again at a new school, with Didi forever out of reach.

Todd is Jake’s foil, an authentic stereotype of a popular kid. As the quarterback of the high school football team, Todd is celebrated everywhere he goes. Todd is Didi’s boyfriend, making him Jake’s rival for her affection.

Despite already having a beautiful girlfriend, Todd regularly cheats on her with other girls, including Melissa. He is selfish and egotistical, not caring if other people get hurt if he gets what he wants. For example, Todd deflects the blame for hooking up with Melissa onto Jake, setting Nelson on a dangerous path towards hurting Jake for something that Jake didn’t do.

Due to his popularity at high school, Todd inflates his own importance, mistakenly believing that college football scouts will want him on their team. Todd’s selfishness goes largely unpunished in the narrative, but Rick is happy to see Todd’s ego deflated when the college scout ignores Todd in favor of Jake.

Didi is Jake’s romantic interest and the reason that Jake reinvents himself to become popular. Her beauty makes her desirable to everyone around her, including Rick and her boyfriend Todd. Both Todd and Jake at times treat Didi more like property than a person, each attaching their egos to whether they can be with her. She becomes a sort of trophy for the two boys to fight over.

Didi is gorgeous and desirable but also selfish and fickle, reflecting the theme of Appearance Versus Substance. She initially refuses to date Jake, even though she likes him, because he isn’t popular enough for her. When Jake later becomes popular, she cheats on Todd to be with him but ultimately refuses to leave Todd, not seeming to care how her actions affect each of them. For a moment—when she saves Jake from Nelson—she seems to show real affection for Jake, but she later reverts to selfishness by letting Jake take the blame for Nelson’s injury, not even showing up at Jake’s trial to defend him.

While Didi’s flings with Jake give him hope that they might have a serious relationship, her selfishness and concern for popularity ensures that he never stood a chance. Just as Jake sometimes views Didi as a prize, she views him as a plaything that she can use and discard at her own convenience.

Jennifer is Rick’s romantic interest. Though she begins as a sort of sidekick to Didi Ray, Jennifer is a round character who oscillates between selfishness and empathy. She and Rick grew up together, which complicates their potential romantic relationship with a long-term friendship. While for most of the novel Rick believes that Jennifer isn’t interested in dating him, he eventually discovers that only Todd’s lies stood in the way of her romantic feelings towards him.

Like Todd and Didi, Jennifer likes to keep the focus on herself. Her maxim, “[i]t’s all about me” (39), exemplifies the High School Hedonism that Jennifer finds at Jake’s parties. She enjoys the wild abandon of the alcohol-infused parties and freely gossips about Jake, Didi, and her other classmates. Her apparent disinterest in Jake’s doomed love for Didi disgusts Rick, but she shows a more nuanced side by secretly appearing at Jake’s trial, demonstrating that she has more of a conscience than Todd or Didi. Rick eventually forgives her and the two of them end the novel as a couple, leaving it on a more optimistic note than The Great Gatsby.

Dipsy is an enigma at F. Scott Fitzgerald High, and Rick doesn’t even know Dipsy’s real name. He is a large-bodied misfit who dresses strangely, is always eating junk food, and likes to quote nature documentaries. Rick speculates that Dipsy’s strange behavior could stem from him smoking marijuana, but he admits that he’s never actually seen Dipsy smoking anything.

Not among the popular kids or on any of the sports teams, Dipsy comes up with his own method of hanging out with the popular groups. He allows the popular kids and athletes to pick on him—as the football players regularly do by stealing his pants—and in exchange he gets to attend their events, including Jake’s wild parties. Dipsy gets through the embarrassment of this relationship by knowing that high school is just temporary, and that he will soon move on.

Dipsy displays a strong sense of morality by being one of the few students who shows up to support Jake at his trial. Unlike the popular kids, Dipsy believes that he owes Jake support after all the effort Jake made to host everyone at the parties. Dipsy earlier revealed his sympathetic nature by helping Rick cover up his shame when Jennifer abandoned him during their apple picking date. Korman constructs him as a moral compass amidst the hedonism in the novel.

Nelson is the stereotype of a huge, “dumb” jock. He is the largest player on the high school football team, capable of stopping entire opposing teams single handedly. He also has difficulty controlling his rage, frequently causing destructive mayhem in the locker room and at Jake’s parties, where he consumes alcohol to excess.

Not very smart, Nelson is easily manipulated by his girlfriend Melissa and later by Todd. Todd and Melissa have a relationship behind Nelson’s back, but Todd convinces Nelson that Jake is responsible instead. When Nelson attacks Jake for the perceived offense, he gets knocked unconscious and seriously injured. He is still in recovery as the novel concludes, representing the consequences of thoughtlessness and overindulgence.

Melissa is Nelson’s girlfriend and a cheerleader at the high school. She isn’t as pretty as Didi Ray, but she and Todd cheat on Didi and Nelson together at Jake’s parties. However, Todd immediately abandons her when he thinks that Didi might find out about their infidelity; he seems not to care that Melissa might get hurt in the process.

Todd convinces Nelson that Melissa is hooking up with Jake to convince Nelson to attack Jake. Melissa at no point speaks up to defend Jake or tell Nelson the truth. She is a flat character whom Korman constructs to provide indirect characterization of Todd’s selfish behavior and Nelson’s thoughtless possessiveness.