Blubber

Wendy is the main antagonist of the book. Early on, she sets her sights on Linda, renaming her “Blubber” and causing a stir in Mrs. Minish’s class while Linda tries to present her project on whales. As the day goes on, Wendy manages to turn the entire class, and later the entire bus, against Linda in a frenzy of bullying. Jill describes Wendy as “a very clever person” (2). Wendy seems to seek out authority over her peers. Her class roles include class president, group science leader, recess captain, and head of the goldfish committee.

As indicated by Jill, many of the kids are afraid of Wendy and her influence. Jill smiles at Wendy’s initial note calling Linda “Blubber” “not because I thought the note was funny, but because Wendy was watching me” (5). Wendy fulfills the Queen Bee archetype, with the rest of the kids doing their best not to land on her bad side. This trait is emphasized when Wendy dresses as a literal queen for Halloween and orders Jill and Caroline to do her bidding by bullying Linda. Jill adds that “everybody knows you don’t cross Wendy” (41).

Wendy is smart; she gets straight “A’s” on her tests and homework. However, she is also cunning in how she lies and manipulates situations to get what she wants. This trait is also demonstrated in her lies to the school principal after Wendy forces Linda to eat a chocolate that Wendy says was an ant. Although it is never revealed, it is strongly implied that Wendy is the one who told Mr. Machinist about Jill and Tracy’s prank. Later, when Jill challenges Wendy’s authority, Wendy abandons her current target, Linda, and sets her sights on Jill, bullying Jill in the same ways she’d bullied Linda. Wendy’s relentless stronghold on the girls in Mrs. Minish’s class only starts to wane when Jill challenges Wendy’s friendship dynamic with Caroline, thus breaking up the duo. Still, at the end of the book, Wendy has moved on to a new sidekick, Laurie, who is implied to take Caroline’s place. Wendy’s only loyalty is to herself and her own motivations. 

Linda is the victim of Wendy, Caroline, and Jill’s bullying throughout most of the story. Though she did nothing to deserve the bullying, she is a constant target of physical and verbal harassment by her peers. Linda attempts to stand up for herself several times, only to get shut down and further tormented. Jill describes Linda as “the pudgiest girl in our class, but not in our grade” and says her “head is shaped like a potato and sits right on her shoulders” (5). Linda is sensitive and can easily be moved to tears through the verbal and physical abuse she’s put through.

When separated from her bullies, Linda is much more confident and easygoing. At Warren Winkler’s bar mitzvah, Linda and Kenny get along great, talking about reincarnation, ESP, and past lives. They bond over eating Jill’s rejected food. Linda laughs at all of Kenny’s jokes. When Jill tries to bully Linda by herself, Linda has none of it, rebutting that she’ll tell on Jill for calling her a smelly whale. She also is much more confident eating whatever she wants when away from Wendy’s watchful eye. This setting change shows how likable and confident Linda can be when she is not the subject of endless bullying.

Near the end of the book, once Wendy has changed her target from Linda to Jill, Linda joins Wendy’s side. Though Linda’s thoughts and feelings are not narrated, it’s implied that, despite what Wendy put Linda through, Linda knows it’s safer for her to side with Wendy than to direct any attention back to herself. 

Tracy is Jill’s best friend and neighbor. She is not in Mrs. Minish’s class, so she stays out of the bullying and drama for the most part. Tracy’s family is Chinese American, and they keep chickens, cats, and dogs at their house. Like Jill, Tracy has an impressive stamp collection, and the two girls work on their stamp albums together regularly. Jill says Tracy has “the nicest hair” that is so long and straight “she can even sit on it” (28).

Though Tracy doesn’t participate in much of the bullying, she still has a mischievous side. Tracy delights in putting the eggs in Mr. Machinist’s mailbox and later peeing in his yard. She also participates in the vandalism of Linda’s house on Halloween, giggling with Jill about it.

Tracy helps Jill gain perspective on her friendship with Wendy as the story progresses. Tracy is the one who suspects that Wendy and Caroline told on them to Mr. Machinist. When she suggests it might not have been Linda who told, Wendy and Caroline pounce on her, accusing her of accusing them. However, Tracy is smart enough to stay out of it, knowing what Wendy is capable of. Later, she suggests that Jill is afraid of Wendy, which is important for Jill to hear. Jill recalls this moment with Tracy when she finally decides to stand up to Wendy, making Tracy’s input pivotal to the overall plot. 

Caroline is Wendy’s best friend and sidekick. She is always with Wendy throughout most of the story. Caroline backs up all of Wendy’s decisions and does whatever Wendy tells her to do. She laughs along with Wendy’s bullying of Linda and helps Wendy restrain Linda whenever necessary. Jill describes Caroline as “bigger than me and stronger too” (174), making it easy for Caroline to do Wendy’s bidding.

Near the end, Jill uses Caroline’s loyalty to Wendy against her, wondering aloud if Wendy is still going to partner with Caroline on the class trip now that Linda is in their friend group. This leads Caroline to finally abandon Wendy, leaving Wendy and Linda alone in the bathroom and not helping them bully Jill. By lunch, Caroline has befriended Donna and has stopped sitting with Wendy.