Skink—No Surrender

Skink is an eccentric Vietnam veteran who acts as Richard’s mentor—he provides the protagonist with tools necessary for the hero to complete his journey. Not only does he provide Richard with transportation, for example, he also teaches Richard how to drive.

When Richard first meets Skink, he assesses that “he stood six four, six five […] He wore a moldy old army jacket” (5). Skink’s eccentricities offset his intimidating stature. When Richard sees Skink in daylight, he notes “how ungroomed and patchy [his beard] was” (18) and “that his good eye was a deep forest green, and that the artificial one […] was brown and shaped differently” (19). He often wears “a flowered plastic shower cap” (4). Skink’s appearance matches his personality: physically intimidating but also unpredictable.

Skink’s relationship with nature guides much of his action. He acts as a guardian of wildlife who does not shy away from violence; after Skink’s run-in with Olney, Richard finds Olney “unconscious and heavily bandaged” (52). When he sees a litterer toss a single can out of their vehicle, Skink follows them and “pour[s] an entire six-pack into the fuel tank” (76). He seeks revenge on those who harm nature.

Skink’s close existence with nature sometimes works to his detriment. When he sees a truck barreling toward a baby skunk, Skink “snatched up the youngster and then tried to leap out of the way. The truck missed everything but his right foot” (89). The injury he sustains works against his and Richard’s journey. When he returns after fighting the alligator, it appears that he has merged with the natural world: “He had emerged […] crowned with slimy hydrilla weeds that made him look like some sort of demented sea monarch,” and his empty eye “socket was now plugged with a glossy brown snail’s shell” (176).

Richard learns about Skink’s backstory—including his identity as one-time Florida governor Clinton Tyree—mostly online. However, Skink relies on the secrecy and deception of his allies. Tile tells the media that Skink “passed away last year in the Big Cypress Swamp” (17). Richard is equally loyal. When Skink tells Richard “the heaviest thing [he’d] ever done in [his] life,” Richard notes, “I’d write it in these pages, except I promised [Skink] I’d never tell a soul” (126).

Malley is Richard’s cousin, and her disappearance is the inciting incident of Richard’s journey. In fact, the opening line of the novel is: “I walked down to the beach and waited for Malley, but she didn’t show up” (1). She is integral to the story’s plot.

Malley’s rebellious personality is clear from the offset. Richard explains that “her dad […] takes away Malley’s cell like twice a week as punishment for acting up” (1). He later tells Skink, “She’s not wacko crazy, but she’s definitely a rebel” (34). Malley is unpredictable and impulsive. When she met Tommy online, she recalls that he invited her on “A trip to the middle of nowhere. And I said let’s go for it” (185).

Malley’s attitude does not always work against her. Combined with her intelligence—Richard explains that Malley is “supersmart. She aces any class that she wants” (66)—Malley’s impulsiveness removes obstacles from Richard’s path. When Tommy binds Richard and Skink’s wrists, Malley’s resourcefulness frees them: “she was placing an object in one of my hands. It was the pocketknife from my backpack” (184). Her intelligence also leads Richard and Skink to her location. In one of her phone calls with Richard, she uses a clever code to give clues about where Tommy is keeping her.

The ivory-bill woodpecker represents Malley’s freedom and safety. When her whereabouts are unknown, Richard believes that the bird is “extinct […] They’re all gone” (85). Just as Malley is out of his life and possibly in danger, the ivorybills are gone from nature. After fleeing the houseboat, Richard and Malley see a woodpecker that she believes is the extinct species; Richard tells her, “Mal, that’s not an ivorybill” (200). The so-called ivorybill is a deception, much like her newfound safety. It isn’t until she is completely free—after Tommy’s death—that Richard and Malley see an ivorybill “Poised high in a moss-draped cypress” (263). Malley is safe.