Who is Joe Lon Mackey from A Feast of Snakes and what is their importance?

Joe Lon Mackey is an ex high school quarterback whose inability to read has left him in a mediocre life following graduation. Unable to follow his high school sweetheart, Joe Lon instead tuns his father's liquor store, marries a woman who he doesn't love, and has children he seems to care little for. Joe Lon knows he was something in high school and cannot seem to get over his current life of mediocrity. He is angry and often abuses his wife. His constant anger allows him to find common ground with Willard, the current quarterback of the high school team. Together, the two are dangerous, as their anger and levels of violence escalate in relation to the others' behaviors.