Influences on Rank’s Journey
by Elzat Nayup
1. Circumstance
2. Acquaintances
3. Friend
4. At Birth
5. Physical
6. Rank was given up by his parents which lead to him being adopted
7. Rank was a big person even as a kid. “At fourteen [he] kind of exploded into mandhood” (60). This caused people to treat Rank as a man even though he was just a child. All through his life, Rank’s size caused him judgment and problems.
8. Findlay
9. Beth
10. Mentor/Savior
11. Accident
12. Death of Ivor
13. The death of Ivor was not anyone’s fault as he was a feeble man. This means that when Rank tried to restrain Ivor and Ivor died, it was not his fault (317-319). Although this death was an accident, it had a profound effect on Rank as he thought he killed a man as many believed it was in his nature. This caused him to runaway from all he knows.
14. Beth can be seen as a mentor or savior character because she is there in Rank’s time of need. Rank had just ran away from the death of his coworker which he thought was his fault. Having no obligation to talk to the troubled young man, Beth takes it upon her to help Rank find peace. She does this by introducing herself as a “envoy…of God” (Coady 246).
15. Being Rank’s coach, Findlay acts as a mentor to Rank after Rank almost killed Croft. The trauma of hitting someone so hard that it caused brain injury left Rank in a state of shock which prevented him from playing hockey. “Findlay eventually got [Rank] off the bench” (121) by speaking to him which shows his role as a mentor.
16. Adam is one of Rank’s close friends which is why he has the characteristics of the ally character. When Rank’s coach pushes him to becoming an enforcer, Adam suggests he quit and when Rank does quit, Adam Says “[he] is proud of [Rank]” (173). The decision to quit university hockey is a big deal for Rank as he is receiving a scholarship to keep on studying. By supporting Rank through a difficult time, Adam is being Rank’s ally.
17. Family
18. Mother
19. Father
20. Adam
21. Croft
22. Sylvie
23. Gord
24. Enemy
25. Her death
26. Ally
27. Trickster
28. Villain
29. Although Adam was Rank’s friend, he can be seen a trickster as he wrote a book using what his friend told him in private. This betrayal marks the start of Rank’s quest of clearing his name.
30. Croft is a minor villain character as he does not actually have the power to defeat Rank. But none the less, Croft pushes Rank far enough for Rank to put him in a coma by punching him. Rank felt regret as soon as he hit Croft (115). This incident turns the boy Rank who is innocent into a man with experience.
31. Despite being his father, Gord is a bad influence on his son. He can be seen as a villain and a trickster character because he uses his own son to do bad things. One of the example of such a event is when Gord pushes his young and innocent son into a fight with an older kid while he watches it from a safe distance (104).
32. To Rank, Sylvie was a mother that he admired. She was the connection between Rank and Gord. When she dies, Rank becomes distant towards his father and also questions his father in god. This leads him towards a struggle to find his faith.
33. Work Cited: Coady, Lynn. The Antagonist. New York: Alfred A Knopf, 2013. Print.
