Stepping on the Cracks

In contrast to fearful Margaret, blonde, blue-eyed Elizabeth is as brave as a comic book superheroine. She bucks her parents’ rules, performs daring feats like walking on hot trolley rails, and defies Gordy and his threats. Elizabeth’s loudly proclaimed “hatred” of Gordy reflects the passionate extremes of her emotions but is ironic given the similarities in their personalities. Elizabeth, like Gordy, is a fighter; she can get physically aggressive when provoked, and her dominating personality can make her a difficult friend. Elizabeth boasts that she would gladly go off to war if she were a boy, and chafes at sexist comments and societal restrictions placed on women, declaring “I never cry and nothing scares me” (97). She is not exactly modest, as Margaret drily notes, and she has a vengeful streak when she feels she has been wronged.

Impulsive, exuberant, and dramatic, Elizabeth is also a gung-ho patriot. With her brother Joe in the service, she believes wholeheartedly in the righteousness of the war and the duty of every young man to serve. Stuart’s desertion therefore initially disgusts her, and she is quick to use the secret against Gordy to punish him for his meanness towards her and Margaret. Although Stuart tries to explain that war and killing are morally wrong, Elizabeth is not fully convinced: She believes that fighting is sometimes necessary to solve problems. Nonetheless, Elizabeth changes her mind about Stuart and pledges to help save his life, showing her compassionate heart and her variable moods. Through all the changes in their lives, Elizabeth and Margaret remain friends.

Surly and hostile, Gordy Smith has been Elizabeth and Margaret’s number one enemy since kindergarten. With his black hair, the livid scar over his eyebrow, and dirty old clothes, Gordy is the girls’ bogeyman. He lives up to this image, showering the girls with threats and insults and intimidating them. Gordy is the school bully and has few friends besides his two pals Toad and Doug. Gordy is quick to anger, and quick to fight—much like his abusive father. Unlike his father, however, Gordy loves his family and is fiercely protective of them; he comforts and tries to shield little June from their father’s abuse. Gordy takes the brunt of his father’s beatings when Stuart is no longer around to watch over them.

Gordy knows and resents that the residents of little College Hill consider his family “white trash,” and he does not want any of them interfering in their family business. Gordy keeps people at arm’s length with his churlish behavior. He resists help from others, only giving in to Margaret’s plan out of desperation to save Stuart, once again demonstrating his fundamentally good nature. Gordy does not agree with Stuart’s “crackpot ideas” about the war—he boasts about Donald’s wartime exploits and plays war games with his friends, saying “the only good Nazi’s a dead Nazi” (87) —but he helps Stuart because they are brothers and he loves him. Gordy also knows that Stuart is not a coward at heart; he is just not a fighter. Hiding Stuart and sheltering his brothers and sisters from their father puts a huge burden of responsibility on young Gordy. As Margaret and Elizabeth discover more about Gordy’s homelife, they empathize with Gordy and realize he is not the fearsome, hated enemy they believed him to be.

As children, Margaret’s brother Jimmy called Stuart “the little poet” because Stuart was always reading and was more sensitive than the older boys. Donald and Joe Crawford would often tease Stuart and call him a sissy, but Jimmy “took up for” Stuart (72). Margaret’s father likewise comments that Stuart is the “only Smith who’ll ever amount to anything” (71). Stuart held a job as paperboy and proved ethical and responsible. Even Mother reluctantly admits that Stuart “wasn’t rough and tough like his brothers” (206).

Dark-haired, skinny, and almost too young-looking to be a soldier, Stuart cuts a pathetic figure. Stuart cherishes his high school poetry book and uses poetry to help the girls understand his pacifist position. He believes that war and killing are morally wrong and refuses to take up arms in the conflict. His belief flies in the face of what most Americans think about World War II. Initially, Margaret thinks it is unfair that Stuart gets to stay home while others serve, but she comes to recognize that Stuart is gentle and intelligent, agreeing with Barbara that “Some people just aren’t meant to be soldiers” (123). Stuart abhors violence and chastises Gordy when he gets aggressive. Ultimately, Stuart stands by his ideals and refuses to fight back against his father’s violence, bravely sacrificing himself so the rest of his family can be safe. Stuart finds an understanding spirit in Barbara and ultimately asks for her hand in marriage.

A young war widow just out of high school, Barbara Fisher is instrumental in saving Stuart’s life. Barbara lost her own husband, star –football player Butch, shortly after the two married. Now Barbara is a single mother to Brent, a toddler who will never know his birth father. Like many others during the war, Barbara has had to grow up quickly, and her room reveals a collision of life stages: She has cherished childhood treasures like Nancy Drew books and her cheerleading megaphone alongside tokens of her new adult status like her wedding photo, Brent’s crib, and Butch’s medals.

Barbara is unsurprised to learn that Stuart deserted and does not hold it against him, even though Butch lost his life in the war. Barbara in fact hates the war: She recognizes its importance but despises the killing, and she would rather have Butch alive than his war medals. In that respect, she is like Stuart. Barbara and Stuart have been friends since kindergarten, and she has always been protective of Stuart, once beating up Donald for making Stuart cry. Unequivocal in her support, Barbara comes to care for Stuart even more while he convalesces in her family home, and she ultimately agrees to marry him.

Jimmy is Margaret’s older brother, whom she idolizes. Jimmy is the one who “knows everything” and protects her from things that go bump in the night. Jimmy calls her “Princess Maggie May” and sends her lighthearted letters filled with jokes and drawings that make her think “[T]he war might not be so bad after all. At least not for him” (15).

In retrospect it becomes clear that Jimmy wrote these letters to protect Margaret from the truth of the war. When the girls discover Stuart, Margaret begins to question Jimmy’s true feelings and thoughts. She knows that Jimmy is also a gentle person—an artist who, like Stuart, hates seeing creatures hurt. She wonders how Jimmy really feels about going to war and concludes that Jimmy would not want her to expose Stuart. Margaret eventually realizes that Jimmy never writes about the war itself and wonders if Jimmy is “keeping thoughts like Donald’s to himself” (112). Mother confirms that Jimmy sounds a little blue in his most recent correspondence. Margaret’s uncertainty about Jimmy’s feelings makes the war and its horrors more real to her, as does his eventual death.

To Mother, Jimmy is an unmitigated hero. She is proud of her boy for doing his duty and cherishes his medals. Margaret, in contrast, wishes her big brother and dear friend had stayed home. Jimmy’s character embodies the moral ambiguity Margaret wrestles with. Jimmy seemingly proves both Margaret and Mother’s differing views correct.

Mother is a product of her times. She is a traditional housewife, spending most of her days cleaning, cooking, and taking care of home and family. She enjoys listening to soap operas on the radio while she irons, darns socks, vacuums, and washes dishes. In keeping with this conformity, Mother believes in propriety and following rules. She chastises Margaret when she is unladylike and looks askance at Margaret’s tumultuous friendship with bossy Elizabeth. Mother believes it is no one’s business what Mr. Smith does in his own home—even if people are being hurt. This policy of nonintervention later causes Mother some regret, but she sticks to her opinion.

Because of her concern for Jimmy, Mother tends to ignore Margaret. Mother does not know Margaret very well. Both she and her husband think Margaret is cheerful and carefree and have no idea about the questions and ethical dilemmas she faces. Mother herself is hard to communicate with. She is not receptive to questions about her decisions, and Margaret feels uncomfortable opening conversations. Mother is also not very physically affectionate. As Margaret notes, “She didn’t hug me very often” (156), but Margaret is happy when she does (156). Margaret recognizes that Mother’s beliefs about the war are absolute and unchangeable—a difference that puts distance between the two.

Daddy is the family breadwinner and works as a mechanic. Like his wife, Mr. Baker believes the war is important and justified but frets about Jimmy constantly. Mother tells Margaret that Daddy is “so worried about Jimmy he can’t think of anything else” (156). Daddy is consumed with following the war news on the radio and in the newspapers. Margaret wishes Daddy would laugh more like he used to. Now, he is serious and short-tempered, dourly refusing to help with Christmas preparations.

Margaret wishes Daddy were more like the characters Bing Crosby plays in the movies: kind figures kids can easily talk to and get good advice from. Margaret’s wish suggests that she feels unable to ask Daddy about things and worries about his reaction. Daddy keeps his emotions to himself after Jimmy’s death, going out and drinking after receiving the news rather than grieving with his wife and daughter. His opinions about the war and Jimmy’s heroism are so strong that Mother keeps Margaret’s involvement with Stuart a secret because she knows Daddy would be even more upset than she is.

Mean-eyed Mr. Smith is Gordy’s abusive father. The police have arrested him many times for drinking and fighting at the Starlight Tavern. He hits Gordy and the younger children, leaving them battered and fearful. After Mrs. Baker tries to speak with Mrs. Smith, he breaks his wife’s arm before apologizing and promising to stop his violence. He is even aggressive to the family cat, Mittens. Stuart’s desertion enrages him, and he tells Gordy he wishes Stuart were dead; later he nearly kills Stuart himself.

Mrs. Smith is timid and submissive and tries to pretend that nothing is wrong in their family. She suggests that June is lying when she claims her daddy hits her and insists that her own bruises simply come from clumsily bumping into things. She even tries to keep Gordy from calling for help after Mr. Smith nearly kills Stuart. Her determination to keep the abuse a secret probably flows from fear of what her husband might do if she tried to press charges against him. Mrs. Smith’s reluctance to seek help is unfortunately common amongst survivors of abuse.

Gordy’s oldest brother Donald does not have the best reputation in College Hill. He is known for being a bully and a hooligan. As a boy he teased Stuart and played pranks like blowing up a gas station and damaging a trolley car. Gordy boasts about Donald’s war achievements, but the letter Donald sends Stuart reveals that Donald has lost any grandiose illusions he might have had about the war. He flat-out tells Stuart that the war is not about honor and the glory of serving one’s country: It is just “killing people before they kill you” (112). Coming from a fighter like Donald, this condemnation of the war is a big surprise to Elizabeth and shakes her own understanding of the war.

Gordy’s little sister June is afraid of her daddy, and Gordy does his best to protect her, revealing his tender side.