Richie Trout Character Analysis in Eleanor and Park

Eleanor’s stepfather Richie is the villain of the story. Cruel, abusive, lecherous, and vindictive, Richie seeks to physically and psychologically control Sabrina and all of her children. Eleanor hates Richie with every fiber of her being, and rarely makes conversation or even eye contact with him. Because of this, Richie is something of a shadowy, nebulous presence throughout the first portion of the novel—but as the story unfolds, Richie’s irredeemably cruel nature and predatory actions increase in frequency and intensity. Eventually, it is revealed that Richie has been the one leaving increasingly lewd messages scrawled on Eleanor’s textbook covers—she’d assumed one of her school bullies had been responsible for the brief, explicit missives. Once Eleanor realizes that Richie has been the one leaving the notes, she allows herself to finally see just how predatory Richie has been towards her all along—and understands that she is in danger of being physically or sexually assaulted by him very soon. Richie is completely one-dimensional in his cruelty, and the roots of his behavior are never explained. He seems to only crave the total annihilation of Sabrina’s agency and individuality—and Eleanor and her siblings’ as well.

Richie Trout Quotes in Eleanor and Park

The Eleanor and Park quotes below are all either spoken by Richie Trout or refer to Richie Trout. 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:

"What are you supposed to do when it gets too cold to play outside?" [Eleanor] asked Ben. […]

"Last year," he said, "Dad made us go to bed at seven thirty."

"God. You, too? Why do you guys call him that?" She tried not to sound angry.

Ben shrugged. "I guess because he's married to Mom."

"Yeah, but—" Eleanor ran her hands up and down the swing chains, then smelled them. "—we never used to call him that. Do you feel like he's your dad?"

"I don't know," Ben said flatly. "What's that supposed to feel like?"

Related Characters: Eleanor Douglas (speaker), Ben Douglas (speaker), Richie Trout, Maisie Douglas

Page Number and Citation: 35

Explanation and Analysis:

Until this moment, she'd kept Park in a place in her head that she thought Richie couldn't get to. Completely separate from this house and everything that happened here. (It was a pretty awesome place. Like the only part of her head fit for praying.) But now Richie was in there, just pissing all over everything. Making everything she felt feel as rank and rotten as him.

Related Characters: Eleanor Douglas (speaker), Park Sheridan, Richie Trout

Page Number and Citation: 67

Explanation and Analysis:

"Why is your stepdad looking for you?"

"Because he knows, because I ran away."

"Why?"

"Because he knows.” Her voice caught. "Because it's him."

Related Characters: Eleanor Douglas (speaker), Park Sheridan (speaker), Richie Trout

Page Number and Citation: 287

Explanation and Analysis:

How he looks at me.

Like he's biding his time.

Not like he wants me. Like he'll get around to me. When there's nothing and no one else left to destroy.

How he waits up for me.

Keeps track of me.

How he's always there. When I'm eating. When I'm reading. When I'm brushing my hair.

You don't see.

Because I pretend not to.

Related Characters: Eleanor Douglas (speaker), Richie Trout

Page Number and Citation: 288

Explanation and Analysis:

Richie Trout Character Timeline in Eleanor and Park

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

...her mother—if she does, her mother will make her ride to school with her stepfather, Richie, in the back of his truck. Eleanor is snapped from her thoughts when the Asian... (full context)

...recognize her.” Only the five-year-old Mouse showed any excitement about Eleanor’s return—eight-year-old Maisie, the toddler Richie Jr., and the eleven-year-old Ben barely even looked up when she walked into the house. (full context)

...all of Eleanor’s old things. Eleanor thanks her mother for saving her things and keeping Richie from throwing them out. Sabrina returns to the kitchen to finish dinner, stating that she... (full context)

...p.m., so that all of the kids are out of the way by the time Richie gets home. Eleanor doesn’t mind not eating with Richie, since she loathes him, but hates... (full context)

...Eleanor looks at Maisie, she is disturbed by a recollection of seeing Maisie sitting on Richie’s lap a few days ago. A year ago, before Richie kicked Eleanor out, “all the... (full context)

...kicks them all out of the house—Eleanor included—for making too much noise. Eleanor walks past Richie’s Rottweiler, Tonya, and follows her siblings to a little playground across the street, even though... (full context)

As Eleanor asks her siblings questions about their home life and how they feel about Richie, Ben tells her that they all call him “Dad” now simply because “he’s married to... (full context)

...to look after the others. When Eleanor walks in the front door of the house, Richie is in the living room—she walks past him without saying a word, her “eyes straight... (full context)

...fallen asleep, she continues to read in the room’s dim light. She is startled when Richie suddenly jerks the door open and grunts at her to turn the light off. Eleanor... (full context)

...each night. She wakes up in the middle of the night to the sounds of Richie’s shouting—and Sabrina’s crying. Eleanor can sense that all of her other siblings are already awake,... (full context)

Eleanor walks back inside the house to find Richie sitting in the dark, watching TV. She tries to sneak past him to her room,... (full context)

...lips are. Park asks if the man at the door was Eleanor’s father—she replies that Richie is her “mother’s husband.” Park asks Eleanor more about her home life, but Eleanor pushes... (full context)

...needs to get out of the house for a while. Sabrina says she’ll talk to Richie about it. Eleanor begs her not to, stating that Richie can’t start telling her whether... (full context)

...see each other. Eleanor replies that her stepdad would “kill” her. Park asks her why Richie is so angry with her all the time, but Eleanor says defensively that in her... (full context)

...to see her—even if her “crazy” stepfather is standing in their way. Eleanor insists that Richie would “do whatever he could” to take Park away from Eleanor if he were to... (full context)

...and gives them car rides around the neighborhood. A few hours after Eleanor’s father leaves, Richie orders all the kids to pile into the back of his truck bed—despite the cold... (full context)

...girlfriend—and his grandmother expresses sympathy for the girl, who is growing up with the no-good Richie Trout for a stepfather. (full context)

...money in secret—she thinks it’s as if her mother is “keeping them all alive behind [Richie’s] back.” (full context)

Eleanor has, to her great shame, gotten good at sleeping through Sabrina and Richie’s arguments. Tonight, though, she is startled awake by a noise, and knows that “something [is]... (full context)

As the police enter the house, Eleanor hears Richie cursing and the kids crying. Sabrina comes out to the living room and reprimands Eleanor... (full context)

Sabrina brings Eleanor back to her and her siblings’ room and explains that Richie fired the gunshots as warning shots to try and scare off some older kids playing... (full context)

...perspective. All day, she is consumed of thoughts about where she could possibly go if Richie kicks her out of the house again. She revisits painful memories of the first time... (full context)

...point of view. As she walks in the front door of her house, she finds Richie and all her siblings watching TV in the living room. She quickly dodges his questions... (full context)

...her mother she is sick so that she can stay home from school. Even though Richie is at work all day, Eleanor stays put in her room until she runs out... (full context)

...his bike back and forth past Eleanor’s house each day, waiting for a time when Richie’s truck isn’t in the yard. One day, finally, the truck is gone, and Park sees... (full context)

...attend a camp for gifted high school students. Sabrina, touched and overjoyed, reads the letter aloud—Richie instantly protests sending Eleanor away. As the younger kids fight over the pineapple box in... (full context)

...her to get ready for a family outing to the grocery store. Eleanor suggests that Richie is too drunk to drive them all, and Sabrina accuses Eleanor of trying to ruin... (full context)

...He knows that greeting Eleanor could get her in a lot of trouble, especially if Richie is in the store. (full context)

...Eleanor looks like she’s caught a cold. Sabrina tells Eleanor that she’ll try to get Richie to change his mind about Minnesota. Eleanor insists she doesn’t want to go anyway. Sabrina... (full context)

...first time, she began telling him a little about her home life, her siblings, and Richie’s reign of terror. Park hadn’t wanted to come back inside, even with the bitter cold... (full context)

...it comes time for dessert, there is no pumpkin pie—a fact that sends the intoxicated Richie flying into a rage. He berates Sabrina for cooking a subpar meal, and throws the... (full context)

...before dinner, so as not to be in imposition—and also because she wants to beat Richie home so that she can take a bath in peace. As school starts back up,... (full context)

...standing invitation. Eleanor is confused, but then Jamie goes on: he says that he knows Richie, and the two of them grew up together. He says that he knows Richie isn’t... (full context)

...looks up at Eleanor blankly. Eleanor warns her siblings that if they tell Sabrina or Richie, Eleanor will get kicked out again. (full context)

...them all before heading home. It is late when she gets back to her own house—Richie is awake watching TV, and Ben and Maisie are asleep on the couch beside him.... (full context)

...to keep staying away from boys, no matter what. When Eleanor hears the sound of Richie’s truck pulling into the driveway, she hurries out of the bath and into her bedroom. (full context)

Wednesday night, Richie works late and Sabrina makes frozen pizzas for Eleanor and all the kids. It is... (full context)

...and Park are 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... (full context)

Park drives Eleanor back to her house. Richie’s truck is sitting in the driveway, but Eleanor is grateful to see that there are... (full context)

...soon as Eleanor walks into the house, she hears the sounds of her mother and Richie fighting. Eleanor hurries into her bedroom, where her siblings are all asleep in spite of... (full context)

Memories of Richie’s filthy notes on her textbooks flash through Eleanor’s head as she quickly packs her backpack,... (full context)

Eleanor continues to have horrible flashes of the notes Richie has been leaving her. Tina asks Eleanor what’s wrong, and invites her inside to “stay... (full context)

...breath, closes her eyes, and tells Park everything. When she’s finished, Park suggests that maybe Richie is just trying to scare Eleanor, and wouldn’t hurt her after all—but Eleanor retorts that... (full context)

Eleanor thinks about how Richie looks at her—“like he’s biding his time.” Her mind is suddenly flooded with all the... (full context)

...wait until the morning and talk to her mother, but Eleanor says that given what Richie’s been writing on her books, she can’t possibly stay there any longer. Park suggests Eleanor... (full context)

...racing with guilt and fear—she feels guilty about leaving her siblings behind, and worries that Richie is out looking for her somewhere or that her mother has called the police. She... (full context)

...write them back. Eleanor says she’s worried that her uncle will send her back to Richie’s—Park tells her that if that happens, she should come to his house, where his parents... (full context)

...Eleanor wrote her mother a letter that first night urging her to get out of Richie’s house, but she didn’t write anything to Park. (full context)

...Soon, he gets word that Eleanor’s whole family has picked up and moved away, although Richie is still living in the house. Meanwhile, in St. Paul, Eleanor thinks frequently about calling... (full context)

...she’s been gone almost a year. One afternoon, he watches from across the street as Richie’s truck pulls into the driveway and the driver’s side door opens. Richie steps out of... (full context)