Character Analysis: The Girl From The Well
Imagine a house centipede chasing you down your hallway. Running away and yelling for help is the usual response to these pests. Fear and uncomfort are the overall emotions during the over exaggerated episode. These exact emotions take place during the book The Girl From The Well by Rin Chupeco. Instead of the house centipede chasing a child an extremely dangerous demon is latched onto an unfortunate victim. In the story, the main character, Tarquin, along with his cousin, Calli, his mother, Yoko, and the friendly demon, Okiku, are trying to banish the evil that haunts them. Characters in the story have the motivation by the theme being free from evil to go to any measure to eliminate the evil. Having constant fear of a demon that
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continuously harasses people and the owner of the evil spirit is what it's like to live a normal day for Tarquin. Tarquin and other people suffer this torment from the demon that has been connected to him since a baby. In The Girl From The Well by Rin Chupeco there is an example of this. “The shadow behind the boy further expands, and the teacher’s assistant finally sees the face that emerges from within its confines. It is another woman, this time one garbed in black. That strangeness of her face is caused by a round porcelain mask.” (Chupeco pg. 88) In this part of the story the teacher’s assistant, Callie, sees the demon that follows Tarquin for the first time. The assistant is imitated by how the spirit looks and is in fear of the power it has over Tarquin. Getting rid of the evil is a huge goal for both Tarquin and Callie. They even went the distance to get an exorcism done for Tark. Also in The Girl From The Well, it says, “The obaasan takes the best and the most beautiful of these dolls: an ichimatsu in a pure white kimono, with lovely, colorless eyes and soft, silky black hair, and lifts it over Tarquin’s head. Slowly, the old woman begins to chant, and the ritual begins.” (Chupeco pg. 227) This piece of evidence is the beginning of the ritual that the mikos will perform on Tarquin. The ritual is being performed in the same place where Tarquin was used as a sacrifice to take in the evil spirit which is in Yagen Valley, Japan. Getting rid of the spirit that tortures Tarquin is a major goal for all the characters in the story, even if it takes a very dangerous ritual to do so.
Doing wrong that would cause suffering later gives Tarquin’s mother, Yoko, a visit during the story. Yoko is the cause of Tarquin’s misery after she used him as a sacrifice to trap the demon inside him while he was just a baby. Ever since the evil has been trapped inside Tarquin, Yoko has been disappointed in herself, and has been tormented by the spirit. This disappointment shows in The Girl From The Well when Tarquin and his father are visiting his mother after she was put into an insane asylum after trying to kill Tarquin. “‘“It was the only way,”’ the broken woman whispers. ‘“I didn’t know what else I could do. I didn’t have much choice. But I couldn’t let her out. Don’t you see? I couldn’t let her out!”’” (Chupeco pg. 55) Yoko is letting the reader know that there was no other way but to trap the demon inside Tarquin. She is also ready to go any length to end both Tarquin’s and her own pain that she brought upon them. This is evident when Yoko says, “‘“You!”’ she howls. ‘“I will not let you escape! You will not have him! I will not let you have him! I’ll kill him first! I’ll kill him!”’” (Chupeco pg. 57) This shows the extreme length that she will go to for eliminating the evil. Yoko’s realization and disappointment in her actions later contributed to her downfall later in the story.
Helping others sometimes has a horrible cost but doing what is right makes it worth it.
The narrator, Okiku, does this with her certain purpose. Okiku is a spirit that died 300 years ago and now travels the world on her own. She travels around taking vengeance on murderers who kill children, which is her purpose. Their souls that are connected to their murderer are released as fireflies once Okiku takes vengeance. The website OneFour KidLit shows that Okiku attacks the evil that lives on in the world to do good. “This doesn’t stop her from being violent when the situation calls for it, and while she considers most of what she does true justice, I wouldn’t say she’s been able to temper it with mercy when it comes to many of her victims – though she’s forced to reassess her centuries-old vengeance when innocent humans become involved.” (OneFour KidLit par. 5) This shows that Okiku likes to help the good and eliminate the evil. Okiku also wants to help Tarquin with his evil when she first sees him. At the end of the story she has the chance to eliminate the demon that haunts Tarquin. An article by Publishers Weekly shows the attraction towards Tarquin and her want to help him. “Okiku has dispassionately existed only to take vengeance, and the unexpected fondness she develops for Tark and his cousin Callie eventually takes them to Japan, where Okiku confronts her own tragic origin and sees a chance to rid Tark of his demon.” (Publisher Weekly, par. 1) The kindness of Okiku shows during this because her only purpose is to get rid of monsters that harm children but her fondness towards Tarquin has also earned him her protection. Okiku’s goal is to free the lost children, rid the monsters that took the children’s lives, and protect Tarquin no matter the
circumstances. Eliminating evil is the only way that the characters feel safe during the story. Throughout the story both human and spirit are hunted down to make life safer. This helps both the public and the main characters safer overall. The Girl From The Well by Rin Chupeco shows this sense of safety by killing what is wrong.
Works Cited
Chupeco, Rin. “The Girl From The Well.” Sourcebooks Fire, 2014
“Rin Chupeco: The Girl From The Well.” Onefourkidlit.com, Interviewed by unknown blogger, 21 Mar. 2014, https://onefourkidlit.wordpress.com/2014/03/21/rin-chupeco-the-girl-from-the- well/.
“The Girl From The Well.” Publishersweekly.com, Interviewed by unknown blogger, 1 Aug. 2014, https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-4022-9218-7\.
continuously harasses people and the owner of the evil spirit is what it's like to live a normal day for Tarquin. Tarquin and other people suffer this torment from the demon that has been connected to him since a baby. In The Girl From The Well by Rin Chupeco there is an example of this. “The shadow behind the boy further expands, and the teacher’s assistant finally sees the face that emerges from within its confines. It is another woman, this time one garbed in black. That strangeness of her face is caused by a round porcelain mask.” (Chupeco pg. 88) In this part of the story the teacher’s assistant, Callie, sees the demon that follows Tarquin for the first time. The assistant is imitated by how the spirit looks and is in fear of the power it has over Tarquin. Getting rid of the evil is a huge goal for both Tarquin and Callie. They even went the distance to get an exorcism done for Tark. Also in The Girl From The Well, it says, “The obaasan takes the best and the most beautiful of these dolls: an ichimatsu in a pure white kimono, with lovely, colorless eyes and soft, silky black hair, and lifts it over Tarquin’s head. Slowly, the old woman begins to chant, and the ritual begins.” (Chupeco pg. 227) This piece of evidence is the beginning of the ritual that the mikos will perform on Tarquin. The ritual is being performed in the same place where Tarquin was used as a sacrifice to take in the evil spirit which is in Yagen Valley, Japan. Getting rid of the spirit that tortures Tarquin is a major goal for all the characters in the story, even if it takes a very dangerous ritual to do so.
Doing wrong that would cause suffering later gives Tarquin’s mother, Yoko, a visit during the story. Yoko is the cause of Tarquin’s misery after she used him as a sacrifice to trap the demon inside him while he was just a baby. Ever since the evil has been trapped inside Tarquin, Yoko has been disappointed in herself, and has been tormented by the spirit. This disappointment shows in The Girl From The Well when Tarquin and his father are visiting his mother after she was put into an insane asylum after trying to kill Tarquin. “‘“It was the only way,”’ the broken woman whispers. ‘“I didn’t know what else I could do. I didn’t have much choice. But I couldn’t let her out. Don’t you see? I couldn’t let her out!”’” (Chupeco pg. 55) Yoko is letting the reader know that there was no other way but to trap the demon inside Tarquin. She is also ready to go any length to end both Tarquin’s and her own pain that she brought upon them. This is evident when Yoko says, “‘“You!”’ she howls. ‘“I will not let you escape! You will not have him! I will not let you have him! I’ll kill him first! I’ll kill him!”’” (Chupeco pg. 57) This shows the extreme length that she will go to for eliminating the evil. Yoko’s realization and disappointment in her actions later contributed to her downfall later in the story.
Helping others sometimes has a horrible cost but doing what is right makes it worth it.
The narrator, Okiku, does this with her certain purpose. Okiku is a spirit that died 300 years ago and now travels the world on her own. She travels around taking vengeance on murderers who kill children, which is her purpose. Their souls that are connected to their murderer are released as fireflies once Okiku takes vengeance. The website OneFour KidLit shows that Okiku attacks the evil that lives on in the world to do good. “This doesn’t stop her from being violent when the situation calls for it, and while she considers most of what she does true justice, I wouldn’t say she’s been able to temper it with mercy when it comes to many of her victims – though she’s forced to reassess her centuries-old vengeance when innocent humans become involved.” (OneFour KidLit par. 5) This shows that Okiku likes to help the good and eliminate the evil. Okiku also wants to help Tarquin with his evil when she first sees him. At the end of the story she has the chance to eliminate the demon that haunts Tarquin. An article by Publishers Weekly shows the attraction towards Tarquin and her want to help him. “Okiku has dispassionately existed only to take vengeance, and the unexpected fondness she develops for Tark and his cousin Callie eventually takes them to Japan, where Okiku confronts her own tragic origin and sees a chance to rid Tark of his demon.” (Publisher Weekly, par. 1) The kindness of Okiku shows during this because her only purpose is to get rid of monsters that harm children but her fondness towards Tarquin has also earned him her protection. Okiku’s goal is to free the lost children, rid the monsters that took the children’s lives, and protect Tarquin no matter the
circumstances. Eliminating evil is the only way that the characters feel safe during the story. Throughout the story both human and spirit are hunted down to make life safer. This helps both the public and the main characters safer overall. The Girl From The Well by Rin Chupeco shows this sense of safety by killing what is wrong.
Works Cited
Chupeco, Rin. “The Girl From The Well.” Sourcebooks Fire, 2014
“Rin Chupeco: The Girl From The Well.” Onefourkidlit.com, Interviewed by unknown blogger, 21 Mar. 2014, https://onefourkidlit.wordpress.com/2014/03/21/rin-chupeco-the-girl-from-the- well/.
“The Girl From The Well.” Publishersweekly.com, Interviewed by unknown blogger, 1 Aug. 2014, https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-4022-9218-7\.