Bridge to Terabithia
Katherine Paterson (1977)
“A book about magic and childhood that becomes something else entirely — and never lets you go.”
EraContemporary
Pages163
Difficulty★☆☆☆☆ Accessible
AP Appearances0
Characters in Bridge to Terabithia
by Katherine Paterson · 1977 · 6 characters analyzed
Cast: Jess Aarons, Leslie Burke, May Belle Aarons, Jess's Father, Miss Edmonds, Janice Avery.
Character Analysis
A boy defined by what he hides: his drawings, his sensitivity, his hunger for something larger than the hollow. Running is a legible ambition; art is not. Leslie gives him permission to be the person he already was. After her death, the novel asks whether he can continue to be that person without her — and the answer, hard-won, is yes.
How They Speak
Spare, functional language — few adjectives, concrete nouns, verbs of physical action. His interior life is richer than his speech.