Jamie Sheridan Character Analysis in Eleanor and Park

Park’s father Jamie, a military man, is a mess of contradictions. Straight-laced and strict, Jamie expects a lot of his sons—but seems to genuinely want to help them become good people and succeed. Jamie is deeply in love with his wife Mindy, and Park and Josh are regularly grossed out by their parents’ over-the-top displays of affection. Park and Jamie often clash over Park’s desire to get his driver’s license—a milestone Jamie is determined to keep him from reaching until he learns to drive a manual transmission. Park believes his father is trying to hold him back, unable to see the ways in which Jamie is trying to better prepare him for the world. Jamie is not a perfect parent—he’s sometimes verbally and even physically abusive—but in the end, he proves himself to be on Park’s team when he supports his son in driving Eleanor out of the state and away from the home of her abusive stepfather, Richie, whom Jamie has known since his own youth.

Jamie Sheridan Quotes in Eleanor and Park

The Eleanor and Park quotes below are all either spoken by Jamie Sheridan or refer to Jamie Sheridan. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

“Your mother's sorry. She's sorry that she hurt your feelings, and she wants you to invite your girlfriend over to dinner."

"So that she can make her feel bad and weird?"

"Well, she is kind of weird, isn't she?"

Park didn't have the energy to be angry. He sighed and let his head fall back on the chair.

His dad kept talking. "Isn't that why you like her?"

Related Characters: Park Sheridan (speaker), Jamie Sheridan (speaker), Eleanor Douglas

Page Number and Citation: 144

Explanation and Analysis:

Jamie Sheridan Character Timeline in Eleanor and Park

The timeline below shows where the character Jamie Sheridan appears in Eleanor and Park. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Park dons his taekwondo uniform and sneakers and heads to the kitchen. His father, Jamie, “barrel[s]” into the kitchen and scoops Park’s mother, Mindy, into his arms, kissing her deeply.... (full context)

...in Park’s family’s Impala. Park, though, tells Cal not to get his hopes up—Park and his father are fighting about Park’s driver’s license, and Park’s father is insisting Park learn to drive... (full context)

Meanwhile, Park is spending his weekend having driving lessons with his father, Jamie, who is attempting to teach him how to drive stick. Park keeps messing up, and... (full context)

...Park, angry, goes into the kitchen and begins slamming cabinets as he gets dinner ready. His father comes in and yells at him, urging him to take his anger out through exercise... (full context)

...and Park is getting dressed to go next door to his grandparents’ house for dinner. His father ’s parents are gregarious Irish people—Park is resentful that he didn’t get more of their... (full context)

...of herself in front of his mother, and is grateful she didn’t have to meet his dad . Eleanor feels guilty that meeting Park’s family was “too much” for her—but part of... (full context)

...mother is so angry that his father has to come pick him up from school; Jamie is shocked to see Park with a black eye and a broken nose. On the... (full context)

...of view as she rings the doorbell at Park’s house after school. Park’s imposing father, Jamie—who looks like Tom Selleck’s character on Magnum, P.I.—answers the door. She has some of Park’s... (full context)

...see Eleanor for three weeks. Park asks his father when his punishment will end, and Jamie says Park’s grounding will lift when he learns to drive stick. Park’s mother interrupts to... (full context)

...he gets back, he finds his father waiting up for him in the living room. Jamie tells Park he’s not grounded anymore—and that Mindy is sorry for everything she said about... (full context)

...point of view. Every day that week, Eleanor comes over after school. On Friday night, Jamie asks Eleanor to stay for dinner—and to Park’s surprise, she accepts the invitation. Park can... (full context)

After the movie, Jamie suggests Park walk Eleanor home. Eleanor thanks the Sheridans for a lovely night, and then... (full context)

...It is a week into Christmas break, and he hasn’t seen or heard from Eleanor. Jamie tenderly asks Park if he and Eleanor have broken up—and if it’s too late to... (full context)

...as Eleanor hurries to leave the Sheridans’ house before dinner, she runs into Park’s dad, Jamie, on the front steps. She greets him quickly and hurries past him, but he calls... (full context)

...it, and heads down for breakfast—where his father “flip[s]” out over Park’s new look. Though Jamie demands Park comb his hair and wash the makeup off his face, Park ignores his... (full context)

That night at dinner, Jamie will barely look at Park—though he asks where Eleanor is. When Park asks his father... (full context)

...hopeless when he thinks of how they can secure more of it—Park knows that with his father giving him the silent treatment lately, he won’t be getting his driver’s license anytime soon.... (full context)

...and his father have been interacting since Park started wearing makeup. Though Eleanor insists that Jamie loves him, Park feels his father’s love is “obligatory”—in reality, he thinks, his dad can’t... (full context)

...his room—but when Park asks his father if it’s okay for them to go up, Jamie responds he doesn’t care what they do as long as nobody gets pregnant. (full context)

...the test on his first try, and Mindy assures Park she’ll talk some sense into Jamie about letting Park drive—in the meantime, he has the license in case of an “emergency.”... (full context)

Park, Eleanor, and Mindy are sitting on the couch watching TV one evening—Josh and Jamie are out. Mindy complains that she doesn’t feel like cooking, and suggests Park use his... (full context)

...giddy as they start driving through Omaha, and though the fear of Richie seeing them—or Jamie finding out that Park is driving—cloud over the evening, they are full of excitement. Eleanor... (full context)

...and sneak out the kitchen door once both his parents are asleep. Park waits until his father comes home and everything goes quiet—by that time, it is well after two in the... (full context)

...explains that Eleanor needs help, and is running away from home to escape her stepdad. Jamie asks if they need to call the police, but Park tries to explain how tenuous... (full context)