34 pages • 1 hour read
Kimberly Willis HoltMy Louisiana Sky
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1998A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Character Analysis
Tiger Ann Parker
Tiger is just about to turn 13, and, as the protagonist of the narrative, her development is the core of this coming-of-age novel. Over the course of the story, her worldview widens, and she becomes surer of herself, her family, and her place in the world.
In the beginning of the novel, Tiger is insecure, and this insecurity has roots in several areas of her life: her physical appearance, her tomboyish temperament (playing baseball, for example), and her parents. She often references the prettiest girl in town, Abby Lynn, and how she is jealous both of Abby Lynn’s beauty and her social status with the other girls in Saitter; in contrast, Tiger describes herself as looking like her father, “tall and skinny with thin red hair and a long neck” (5), and this is quite different from the beauty standards with which she’s familiar. Tiger also feels embarrassed by her parents’ intellectual disabilities. After a particularly embarrassing incident and the death of her grandmother, Tiger begins to resent her parents for their differences. She feels guilty about this resentment, and, as such, she feels unable to face her feelings at first.
When Tiger visits Baton Rouge with her Aunt Dorie Kay, she intends to move to the city and live with her aunt. This visit is, in many ways, one of the most pivotal parts of the book. Tiger’s worldview widens both literally and metaphorically after leaving her hometown for the first time. She learns how chaotic the city is and how judgmental its people are, and she increasingly notices racism. This new awareness continues when she returns home to Saitter. The hurricane that forms the climax of the novel drastically propels Tiger’s development. It is during the hurricane that Tiger sees her father get recognition for his skills despite his differences, and it is during the hurricane that Tiger realizes just how much her mother loves her and protects her in her own way.
By the end of the novel, Tiger has a stronger sense of identity. She feels more confident in her appearance after taking charge of it and cutting her hair, but she also realizes that physical beauty is subjective and relatively unimportant. Tiger also feels more confident in her family; she recognizes their shared love, and she realizes that their differences do not make them inferior, despite some townspeople’s judgment. By the end of My Louisiana Sky, Tiger is also more confident in her place in the world. She decides to stay in Saitter and fully realizes her deep connection to her hometown and family.
Aunt Dorie Kay
Aunt Dorie Kay is Tiger’s maternal aunt. She is much more plain-looking than Tiger’s mother, but she makes herself glamorous through stylish clothes, make up, and hair styles. She acts as both a foil of sorts and a mentor to Tiger, talking Tiger through difficult emotions and situations and allowing readers to more clearly see Tiger’s development in her decision not to move to Baton Rouge.
Aunt Dorie Kay provides Tiger with an example of a strong, self-made woman; she moved away from Saitter and started a new life in Baton Rouge all by herself. She is now fairly well-off and is very committed to her job. However, she also shows Tiger that strength and vulnerability can coexist in the same person and be expressed simultaneously. During her conversation with Tiger’s in Baton Rouge, she reveals to Tiger that she regrets never being emotionally open with Granny. This advice and vulnerability help Tiger through her own situation with Jesse Wade, and it helps her to embrace openness and honesty in her other relationships.
Aunt Dorie Kay shows a bit of development over the course of the novel as well. Through being vulnerable with Tiger, it seems that she works through some of her complicated feelings about her relationship with Granny. She also seems to shift her focus more towards the other people in her life; at the beginning of the novel, she is single because she is always busy with work. When she visits Saitter at the very end of the novel, she brings a new boyfriend with her; her conversations with Tiger may have helped her become more open in her relationships as well.
Abby Lynn Anders
Tiger often describes Abby Lynn Anders as the prettiest girl in town, with curly blonde hair and the newest clothes. Her family is wealthy, and she is a foil of sorts to Tiger; while Abby Lynn is upper-class, Tiger is working-class; while Abby Lynn is popular, Tiger is an outcast; While Abby Lynn has conventional beauty, Tiger feels lacking in her physical appearance.
At the beginning of the novel, Abby Lynn is overtly rude and exclusionary towards Tiger. She refuses to talk to Tiger, and she makes fun of Tiger’s mother. Additionally, Tiger is the only person in their school whom Abby Lynn does not invite to her swimming party. Though the reader sees little of the process of Abby Lynn’s development, she eventually comes around to Tiger and acts less cruel towards her. This change seems to happen when Abby Lynn is scared by the hurricane and sees Tiger’s new haircut, though Tiger’s own development likely plays a part in this change as well; Tiger no longer cares what Abby Lynn thinks.
At the end of the novel, Abby Lynn has also (unintentionally) revealed some of her own insecurities; she is very bad at sports and embarrassed by this fact. In turn, Tiger recognizes this vulnerability and feels more charitable and understanding towards Abby Lynn. Though the two don’t end the novel as friends, they are decidedly less antagonistic towards each other and a little bit closer than they were in the beginning.
Jesse Wade Thompson
Jesse Wade Thompson is Tiger’s best friend. They are the same age, though Jesse Wade’s family is the richest in town, and they therefore live very different lives. Their friendship undergoes some trials when Jesse Wade tries to comfort a crying Tiger and kisses her (much to her dismay), but he grows over the course of the novel as well, and they end up even closer than before.
Because his family owns the plant nursery in town and because he was a sickly child, Jesse Wade never has to work. Tiger judges him for this, wondering at his privilege and feeling annoyed because it seems he has so few responsibilities while she has so many. It is unclear whether he is aware of Tiger’s judgment, but she certainly does not try to hide it. However, after the two have their falling-out, he works to improve himself and develops in his own way as a character.
Towards the end of the novel, Jesse Wade volunteers to work in his family’s nursery because he hears Tiger is going to be there and wants to patch things up with her. She is impressed by his effort and the fact that he is capable of work after all, and the two reconcile soon after. In turn, Jesse Wade’s worldview widens.
Granny
Tiger’s maternal grandmother is a mentor to her, providing advice, wisdom, and a listening ear. She has been a hard worker all her life and eventually dies while working in the garden. Though she dies fairly early in the novel, she still has a huge impact on Tiger, and her advice returns multiple times throughout the story to guide Tiger down the right path.
Because she is the primary person who raised Tiger, her passing hits Tiger very hard. Granny always provided wisdom when Tiger had a problem, and Tiger is initially crushed that she no longer has this resource. However, Tiger finds comfort when she realizes that Granny’s wisdom will long survive her death, and throughout the novel, Tiger recalls specific things her grandmother told her. Additionally, Granny provides Tiger with another example of an exceptionally strong woman.
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By Kimberly Willis Holt
