The Eleventh Plague

Jenny is the secondary protagonist of the novel and Stephen’s love interest. She and Stephen mirror one another: Both are outcasts in their own way. They are desperate to feel wanted, and their actions tend to reflect either their anger at being unwanted or their desire to be loved. Jenny is a teenage girl and the only Chinese American character in the novel. Because China played an important role in the Collapse, prejudice against Chinese people is widespread in post-Collapse America, which gives Jenny a unique perspective on Settler’s Landing and the people in it. Jenny is characterized as standoffish and rebellious, but much of this comes from her resistance to the racism at the core of the Landing community. When her situation begins to change, she reveals herself to be deeply loyal and adventurous, with an intense commitment to improving the lives of those around her even at the risk of her own. She is also highly artistic, and her drawings play an important role in her developing relationship with Stephen.

Jenny’s name demonstrates her disconnect from her culture and forced assimilation into the pseudo-American (and implicitly white) reality of the Landing. The Greens saved her life by adopting her, but she struggles to feel wanted by them and tries to reestablish herself as Chinese American with an imagined last name—Tan—and with objects that evoke China, like the Red Army jacket. Jenny does not have any real connections to her heritage, and nobody helps her discover any since most survivors of the Collapse regard Chinese people as enemies. Jenny’s characterization rests heavily on this disconnect. Marginalized by the Landing settlers, she tries to establish herself as a rebellious other by connecting in superficial ways to her Chinese heritage.

Stephen’s father and grandfather are minimally present in the novel, yet their characterization is important to Stephen’s development and perception of the world. Importantly, they both share Stephen’s name, signifying the thread between them: Stephen, whether he likes it or not, has elements of both his father’s kindness and his grandfather’s ruthless practicality. Stephen’s father and grandfather therefore function largely as influences on the choices Stephen makes rather than as actual characters, but in this sense, they are vital to the plot.

Stephen’s grandfather is never alive on the page but haunts the narrative and drives its exploration of The Lingering Effects of Abuse. His harsh behavior toward his family and others affects the way Stephen perceives things, and Stephen’s character arc involves processing both his resentment of his grandfather and his grief that he has passed. Stephen’s grandfather is not an active or round character; due to his death, he is static, existing only as a memory or idea in Stephen’s mind. As a result, he becomes something of a caricature of an abuser and, more broadly, an emblem of toxic American masculinity. Stephen’s grandfather believes that all pleasure is self-indulgent and that all people are dangerous, not recognizing the importance of humanity and community in the postapocalyptic world. Although he is dead, his dangerous ideals pervade the world and Stephen’s mind.

Stephen’s father is the opposite. He is characterized as kind, romantic, and altruistic—all traits that directly contradict the ideology with which he was raised. Stephen’s father’s kindness gets him into trouble, however, as his desire to free the enslaved people indirectly leads to his coma and death. Stephen’s father is not developed beyond this point, but his kindness and worldview affect Stephen just as much as Stephen’s grandfather’s do. He represents all that is good, so his death shakes Stephen’s belief in humanity, hope, and even himself.

The Green parents welcome Stephen into their home, making them a necessary force in Stephen’s life even though he does not trust them. They are round characters; rather than using the Greens to represent “good” parenting in contrast to the toxic Henry family, the novel shows that the Greens are just as affected by their desire to survive as anyone else. Marcus and Violet try to save others when it is convenient, but they also step aside and let others suffer to protect themselves. They allow the Henrys to wreak havoc to preserve their own well-being, which Stephen, Jenny, and Jackson harshly criticize. All the same, both parents are shown to be kind and protective, with a desire to improve the world around them.

Marcus is described as balding and compact in build, while Violet is small with a flat voice. Their averageness emphasizes their reliability, encouraging Stephen and others to trust them. It also represents the survival of the “typical” American family even in a postapocalyptic landscape. Their averageness translates to both resilience and complacency, but their importance to the Landing allows them to advocate for change when they choose to do so. Violet’s commitment to being a doctor and doing good regardless of the cost counterbalances Marcus’s desire for safety and stability, resulting in their mutual choice to fight back against the enslavers and defend humankind rather than simply themselves.

Jackson Green becomes Stephen’s closest friend other than Jenny. He is characterized as sweet and brave but anxious; he desires stability and consistency and dislikes danger and chaos. Jackson loves his friends and family deeply but struggles to act in accordance with the harsh world around him; he shoots the enslaver to save Stephen but sobs at having to take a life to save his friend. Jackson is the balancing force between Jenny and Stephen—his loyalty and emotionality round out their trio and represent what Settler’s Landing could be.

Jackson is described as heavyset with curly hair and a round face. This appearance helps characterize him as innocent, though this is to some extent misleading; despite his gentleness, he is just as traumatized as the other teenagers and children. He is shaken by a massacre he witnessed as a child and lets that shape his worldview for the better. Rather than committing himself to survival at any cost, he develops empathy for others, recognizing the value of human life even when others do not. Jackson’s generosity is also important to the story; he gives his belongings freely to Stephen, recognizing them as equals with similar needs and wants. This helps Stephen recognize others’ potential for kindness, which affects the outcome of the novel.

Caleb and Will Henry both serve as antagonists whose storylines develop the theme of Tradition Versus Toxic Nostalgia in American Culture. Will, Caleb’s son, resembles his father in miniature. He lacks Caleb’s social power but can still cause harm and perpetuate racism and xenophobia in their community. Caleb, meanwhile, is characterized as arrogant, cruel, and authoritarian; his wealth and religious beliefs have made him self-important, and he is convinced his family’s survival signifies their right to control others. Both represent all that is wrong with the community of the Landing, and their presence is toxic to survival, hope, and humanity.

Caleb and Will both use their power to abuse others. Caleb justifies his actions using the Bible and religion; he creates an environment of fear and terror and uses these emotions to drive others to do what he wants. Like his son, Caleb desires control and acts violently to achieve it, though his violence is more indirect; where Will beats up Stephen, Jenny, and any others who get in his way, Caleb stokes the community into a panic and leads them to assault Fort Leonard.

Though the novel does not excuse either character for their actions, it heavily implies that their behavior stems from panic caused by a loss of control. Caleb lost control during the Collapse, so he fights to regain it, and Will follows in his father’s footsteps. Their actions lead to Caleb’s loss of power and Will’s death. Both characters are flat, as Will dies before he can grow as a character and Caleb does not appear to rethink his actions even though the community allows him to stay, stripped of power and influence.

Mr. Tuttle is a flat mentor character who illustrates the necessity of intellectualism for human survival. Mr. Tuttle is characterized as strict, brave, and intelligent; he believes in the importance of literature, education, and imagination, and he encourages the children in the Landing to value their minds and their potential to do good. Mr. Tuttle encourages Stephen’s love of learning by giving him books and showing him forgiveness and kindness despite the community’s harsh rules and penalties. He serves as a foil to Stephen’s grandfather; despite his institutional position and his willingness to discipline students if necessary, Mr. Tuttle uses his status as a teacher to guide and direct others rather than punish them. Further, he believes in the importance of “impractical” things like education, whereas Stephen’s grandfather thought books were only good for kindling.

Mr. Tuttle survives serious injuries at the novel’s end, which symbolically represents the survival of the human intellect and the desire to create and learn. Although the Collapse could have wiped out literature and other markers of culture and development, it has not, and people like Mr. Tuttle fight to preserve these hallmarks of human existence. Mr. Tuttle’s choice to work as a teacher in the community represents hope for the future, as he is investing in the next generation despite the difficulty and lack of resources. Mr. Tuttle is a static character, but he is represented as a vital piece of the equation for survival all the same.

The enslavers and military characters are unnamed antagonists. They are flat characters, stereotypically villainous and cruel in their actions and motivations. Despite this, the novel represents their evildoing as a possibility for all the characters; their desire to cause harm stems from the selfish prioritization of individual survival, representing the worst of individualism in a postapocalyptic setting. Stephen, in particular, must learn from their cruelty.

The enslavers’ possession of wealth and vital supplies underscores their villainous characterization. They possess guns, vehicles, and other valuable items, but they do not use these for good; instead, they use them to perpetuate the cycle of violence. The enslavers do not care about the well-being of humanity and kill and harm indiscriminately. Life is only valuable to them if it is profitable, and they die because they cannot be redeemed; they will only continue to harm others if they live.