Tina Character Analysis in Eleanor and Park

A popular, mean girl at school. Tina makes it her personal mission throughout the school year to berate and humiliate Eleanor at every turn, sticking menstrual pads to her locker and dumping her clothes in the locker room toilets. Park’s mother, Mindy, cuts Tina’s hair regularly. It’s suggested that Tina—who dated Park briefly in junior high—still harbors feelings for Park and lashes out at Eleanor out of jealousy and resentment. Tina is redeemed at the end of the novel, however, when she offers the frightened Eleanor a safe haven from Richie’s wrath.

Tina Quotes in Eleanor and Park

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

But Park didn’t have any luck—or status—to spare on that dumb redhead. He had just enough to keep himself out of trouble. And he knew it was crappy, but he was kind of grateful that people like that girl existed. Because people like Steve and Mikey and Tina existed, too, and they needed to be fed. If it wasn’t that redhead, it was going to be somebody else. And if it wasn’t somebody else, it was going to be Park.

Related Characters: Park Sheridan (speaker), Eleanor Douglas, Tina, Steve

Page Number and Citation: 14

Explanation and Analysis:

Tina Character Timeline in Eleanor and Park

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

...down. Park feels a ball of paper hit the back of his head. Steve’s girlfriend, Tina, yells at him for crumpling up her class notes to throw at Park. Park at... (full context)

...and says that he always assumed Park was “Mexican.” Steve tells Mikey he’s a racist. Tina, who has been getting haircuts from Park’s mother since grade school, tells the boys that... (full context)

...aisle or puts their bag down to prevent her from sitting with them. Park hears Tina laugh—Tina “live[s]” for any kind of gossip or drama. Park can’t help but stare at... (full context)

...her to sit down. The new girl tries to sit in an empty seat, but Tina yells at her and tells her it already belongs to someone. Park turns up the... (full context)

As Eleanor boards the bus after school, the popular Tina pushes past her and calls her a cruel nickname. Tina has already popularized the nicknames... (full context)

Eleanor is surprised when, in gym class, Tina and the other girls are relatively “un-horrible” to her—but after the session is over, in... (full context)

After school, Park arrives home to find Tina getting her hair done in the makeshift salon Park’s mother, Mindy—Min-Dae, in Korean—runs out of... (full context)

...friend’s house tomorrow after school. Eleanor tells her mother that her new friend is named Tina. Sabrina tells Eleanor it’s okay for her to go over, and expresses happiness over the... (full context)

...dodges his questions about where she’s been, claiming to have eaten dinner at her friend Tina’s, before retreating to her bedroom and climbing into bed still fully dressed. (full context)

Eleanor expresses her suspicion that Tina is leaving the notes—Park says Tina would never do anything so cruel, and explains that... (full context)

That night, Park reflects on the disastrous confrontation with Eleanor—and his history with Tina. Though he’s not interested in her romantically she has come onto him several times over... (full context)

...the rest of her Christmas vacation at Park’s house. Eleanor’s mother thinks she is at Tina’s the whole time, and worries that Eleanor is overstaying her welcome. Sabrina tells Eleanor to... (full context)

...own routine at home—and finds that she still has to endure teasing and bullying from Tina and her crew almost each day. (full context)

...he looks “kind of […] like Ozzy [Osbourne]” and then goes back to talking with Tina. When Eleanor gets on the bus and sees Park, she rushes over to their seat—and... (full context)

...products Mindy gave Eleanor, and Eleanor has had to lie and say they came from Tina. Eleanor, however, isn’t the one who’s been wearing makeup lately—it’s Park who has been showing... (full context)

...day after gym class—and to tell her counselor, Mrs. Dunne, if it turns out that Tina is the one leaving the nasty notes. The discussion, though, quickly turns to Eleanor defensively... (full context)

...clothes out and place them in a plastic bag, but urges Eleanor to stop “letting” Tina and the other girls get to her. (full context)

...doesn’t want to. Sabrina tells Eleanor how lucky she is to have a friend like “Tina” when things get tough. That night, even though Eleanor knows Friday night is movie night... (full context)

...suit excited him, and he admits that it did. Eleanor privately rejoices over how “pissed” Tina would be if she knew what stealing Eleanor’s clothes ultimately led to. (full context)

...are trying to “get to the bottom” of what happened. Eleanor knows from the look Tina gives her each morning on the bus, though, that there is nothing she or anyone... (full context)

...around and realizes she is in front of Steve’s house—the garage door is open, and Tina is standing in the driveway. Tina tells Eleanor that Richie has been out driving around... (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 out of [Richie’s] way until... (full context)

...window and leans out—and is even more shocked to find Eleanor standing with Steve and Tina on the lawn, holding a beer. (full context)

...glass on her bed. Eleanor sees a car approaching on the street, and she, Park, Tina, and Steve all scurry back into Steve’s garage. (full context)

...to understand what’s going on. He asks Eleanor to tell him what has happened, but Tina answers for her, and says that her stepfather is out looking for her. Eleanor tells... (full context)