Schooled

Rain was a taxi driver in San Francisco when she and a small group of like-minded friends decided to drop out of mainstream society and start a commune called Garland Farm. While the rest of the members drifted away, or, as in the case of Capricorn’s parents, died, Rain continued on at the farm, with only her grandson for company.

As the only person in Capricorn’s life, Rain takes on the job of educating him, as well as the task of transmitting her own worldview to him. Rain scorns the materialism and obsession with rules that permeate life outside the farm. While Capricorn has a nuanced view of the world, being able to see the good with the bad, Rain is uncompromising. She sees Garland Farm as a refuge from a morally bankrupt American society. She tells Capricorn to “stay true to yourself. Don’t change because everybody around you is spiritually handicapped” (90).

However, Capricorn’s example eventually has an effect on Rain. Seeing that Capricorn was able to remain true to himself while interacting with the outside world shows Rain that they do not have to sequester themselves on the farm in order to live out their ideals. Rain also realizes that it’s unfair not to prepare Capricorn for life once she is gone.

Rain is the only major character whose story is not told from her perspective; none of the chapters are in her voice.

Known as Mrs. Donnelly by Capricorn, Flora Donnelly is a social worker who has her own connection to Garland Farm and Rain. As a child, from age five to 11, Mrs. Donnelly lived on the farm. When her parents decided it was time to leave, Mrs. Donnelly had a difficult time adjusting to the outside world. Garland Farm left her ill-prepared for life outside the commune, and it’s her past that causes her to devalue Capricorn’s experience of being raised on the farm. It also gives her more insight than most into what Capricorn is going through as he tries to navigate this new world.

Zach is the prototypical bully. He has completely bought in to the hierarchal structure of middle school, and after biding his time, he feels that he is owed his place as the most popular guy in school. Before Capricorn shows up, everything in Zach’s experience confirms his worldview that the strong should prevail over the weak. Capricorn not only rejects Zach’s view of “might equals right,” he does not even seem to notice the taunts and abuse from Zach and his group. By not acknowledging or even being aware of their harassment, Capricorn upends Zach’s entire understanding of how the world works. In the end, Zach’s only friend is Hugh Winkleman, a kid that Zach has spent years torturing. The reason they understand each other is because they have both bought into the idea that in society there are winners and losers.

Even though Hugh starts out as an ally to Capricorn, his own experiences of being a target of abuse have led to his belief that school is a game of survival, and he buys into the idea that it is better to sacrifice someone else, rather than be sacrificed. Hugh may be highly intelligent, but he lacks Capricorn’s strong moral compass. When he first sees Capricorn, he thinks, “Even I could pick on a guy like that. Not that I’d ever do such a thing. I’d never lower myself to the level of those nitwits” (27-28). But Hugh’s good estimation of himself takes a beating when he turns on Capricorn the first time it benefits him. Hugh’s attempts to fit in and climb the social ladder backfire at Capricorn’s “vigil,” though Hugh’s friendship with Zach is intact at the end of the novel.

In love with Zach, Naomi is one of the first students at Claverage Middle School to start bullying Capricorn. Not only does she pelt him with spitballs, but she also writes him confusing love letters, signed by the fictitious “Lorelai Lumley.” All of this is done in an effort to win over Zach, whom she is afraid she will lose to Lena. However, as Naomi gets to know Capricorn, she becomes disgusted by the actions of Zach and Lena and even herself. As she tells Capricorn, “Watch out for all of us. We’re not as nice as we pretend to be” (81). Naomi becomes more self-aware through her interactions with Capricorn. Not only does he change Naomi’s idea of what kind of person she wants to be with, he changes her idea of what kind of person she wants to be.

Sophie is Capricorn’s first crush. Capricorn says of Sophie, “Sophie Donnelly was beautiful. […] Just standing near her—even when she was yelling at me—made me feel…nice” (25-26). Sophie is hostile toward Capricorn from the first minute she sees him, saying to her mom, “Mother—are you on drugs? How could you bring that—that freakazoid into our house?” (24). However, Capricorn’s other-centeredness finally wins her over. Sophie is continually disappointed by her father and has developed a cynical outlook in order to deal with that disappointment. Capricorn’s unwavering thoughtfulness slowly chips away at her cynicism until she comes to appreciate all the ways he is different from her father.

Like Naomi, Darryl follows Zach’s lead and is one of Capricorn’s early tormentors. When Zach has Darryl unknowingly tackle Capricorn at a pep rally, however, Darryl turns against Zach: “Zach was smarter than I was, and I was never going to win this argument using just my mouth. It was time for my knuckles to take over” (141). Unfortunately, Capricorn gets in the way and takes the full force of Darryl’s blow. Darryl is immediately remorseful because, despite all the abuse, he has grown to respect Capricorn: “[I]n spite of everything we threw at him, Cap never fell apart, or ratted us out, or even got mad. […] That’s what first brought me around to admire the guy” (142-43).

Mr. Kasigi is the assistant principal at Claverage Middle School. He fails to curtail the bullying that takes place on his watch. He suspects that the election of the eighth grade president is part of a hazing ritual overseen by the bullies in the school, and yet he does nothing to stop it. He seems more concerned with his own goal of becoming a high school principal than the struggles of his students. He does, however, admit to his own moral failings and acknowledges to himself that the pranks and bullying only become a real concern to him when they affect him.

Lena is part of Zach Powers’s crowd and serves as both a friend and romantic rival to Naomi, while Naomi is still interested in Zach. Because she is only spoken about, there is a mystical quality to her. Naomi finds it “tough to compete with Lena, who was so naturally pretty and had a very strong personality” (33). Despite her tendency to “bulldoze” others, people tend to what she says simply “because they liked her” (33), which speaks to her magnetic personality.