Joe

Joe is the main character of the novel. Although the narrator never explicitly mentions Joe’s age, the way that he thinks, speaks, and behaves indicates that he is a young child. He lives alone in a small house near Big Meadow. The house is made of three rooms. Joe stays on a mattress situated on top of a cupboard near the chimney. He spends a large amount of his time on the mattress, because he cannot be out in the sun too often. Joe has a lazy eye, which is irritated by the sun and bright light. When he is inside his house, he lies on his mattress reading his comic books. His favorite comic is Knockout.

Because of Joe’s lazy eye, he must wear an eye patch. The eye patch is meant to cover his good eye, and thus to encourage his weak eye to...