Trampoline

Mamaw is Dawn’s grandmother and mother of Momma. Her real name is Cora, but Dawn and other family members call her Mamaw. Mamaw is a great storyteller, matriarch of the family, and highly protective of the land and people she loves. The community respects Mamaw for being a leader in anti-coal activism. Despite her unassuming approach to her anti-coal work, she takes it seriously and would never be involved in something with potential repercussions for her family if it weren’t important to her. Moreover, Mamaw is fair and sensitive to the needs of people in her community who depend on coal for their livelihood. She is disappointed that meetings often turn into a shouting match, with both sides failing to get their point across.

In addition to her respected role in the community, Mamaw is a devoted, patient, and caring mother and grandmother. Dawn lives with Mamaw instead of her own mother because she is the only stable adult in Dawn’s life. Her calm and loving presence comforts Dawn when she is upset. She is firm with Dawn, but she never reprimands Dawn for making bad decisions, as she can sense the pain Dawn already faces.

Momma’s real name is Patricia, but Dawn calls her Momma in the novel. Dawn’s relationship with her mother is strained due to Momma’s alcoholism and temper. Before Dawn’s father died, Momma was stable and ran her own baking business. She started drinking after he died to cope with the pain. She seems unaware of the pain her behavior causes Dawn.

Keith Kelly’s death serves as a wake-up call for Momma. Later in the novel, she starts to realize how other people perceive her dysfunction. She nonsensically talks about how she has important ideas too, comparing herself to Dawn and Mamaw, but her thoughts are shrouded in her drunken stupor. By the end of the novel, she stops drinking and starts attending church again, seemingly ready to show her family that she really does care.

Hubert is Dawn’s uncle. He is crass, angry, and, like Momma, is often drunk. After his brother, Dawn’s father, dies, he moves in with Momma, Dawn, and Albert. Dawn resents that he took her father’s place and treats their mother so poorly. He hit Dawn once when she was a child and slaps her as a teenager. He has poor judgment, and he often gives Dawn and Albert alcohol. He forces Dawn to drive the truck on the night of the accident that kills Keith, even though she had been drinking. He feels defeated by life and attempts suicide when he fears that he will go to jail. By the end of the novel, he makes amends with Momma and Dawn. He serves time for causing Keith’s death, but like Momma, Keith’s death serves as a turning point in his life, and he views his time in jail as a second chance.

Willett Bilson is the DJ that introduces Dawn to punk rock music. She is intrigued by his smooth voice and his knowledge of music. Her attraction to Willett grows throughout the novel, even before meeting him, and she struggles to understand her feelings for him. Their paths cross when his brother interviews Dawn after he watches her speak at the meeting. Willett is intelligent and thoughtful, like Dawn. He earned a scholarship to a college in North Carolina, where he had trouble fitting in until he met a girl who introduced him to the college radio station and took him to shows in the area. He became assistant manager of the radio station but had to leave school abruptly following his father’s cancer diagnosis. He never went back to college aside from a few classes at a community college.

Aunt June is Momma’s sister who lives in Tennessee. Aunt June is kind, patient, and cares deeply about Dawn’s wellbeing and opens her home to Dawn after Keith dies. Her house is a cozy, peaceful oasis where Dawn calms herself in the wake of the car accident. Dawn admires her artistic and intellectual friends and envisions herself escaping Canard like Aunt June did. Despite escaping to a more peaceful lifestyle in Tennessee, June never married or had children, and Mamaw hints at June’s loneliness.

Albert is Dawn’s older brother, who lives with their uncle Hubert and Momma. He is a senior at the same high school as Dawn, but he rarely attends class and only shows up on campus to sell pot. He is lazy, rude, and inconsiderate to others. Even as children, before their dad died when the Jewell household was more peaceful, he was still unkind to Dawn. He plays his music too loud and frequently insults her. Later in the novel, he starts dating Dawn’s best friend, Evie. 

Denny is Dawn’s cousin who works for a coal mining company. He is patient, quiet, and forgiving. He rescues Dawn from the wreckage when she crashed Hubert’s truck, and then doesn’t blame or punish Dawn when she escapes by stealing his truck. Later, he rescues Momma from the tree when she gets stuck without complaining or drawing attention to himself. As a coal company employee, Denny is conflicted: he tells Dawn in private that he supports her opinion and will always protect her if someone comes after her, even though he cannot express his support in public.