Monkey Beach Character Analysis

Lisa

Lisamarie Michelle Hill, named by Mom and Dad in honor of her Uncle Mick (whom they believe to be dead at the time of her birth) is a girl growing up in Kitamaat Village, British… read analysis of Lisa

Uncle Mick

Uncle Mick is the oldest son of Ma-ma-oo and Ba-ba-oo; he is the brother of Aunt Kate, Aunt Trudy, and Dad; he is uncle to Jimmy and Lisa. Importantly, he… read analysis of Uncle Mick

Ma-ma-oo

Ma-ma-oo, whose proper name is Agnes Hill, is Lisa’s and Jimmy’s paternal grandmother. With Ba-ba-oo, she had four children: Aunt Kate, Uncle Mick, Aunt Trudy, and Dad. Ma-ma-oo… read analysis of Ma-ma-oo

Jimmy

Jimmy is Mom and Dad’s son and second child and is the younger brother of Lisa. He has a competitive and fearless temperament. As a child, he loves to swim in the bay… read analysis of Jimmy

Dad

Dad, whose proper name is Albert Hill, is the youngest child of Ma-ma-oo and Ba-ba-oo. He’s married to Mom and the father of Lisa and Jimmy. Unlike his older siblings Aunt Trudy and… read analysis of Dad

Mom

Mom, whose proper name is Gladys Hill, is Dad’s wife and Jimmy and Lisa’s mother. She grew up in Kitamaat Village, the granddaughter of one of the Haisla’s last powerful medicine women. When… read analysis of Mom

Tab

Tab is Aunt Trudy’s daughter and cousin to J.J., Erica, Lisa, and Jimmy. When they are young, wild, tomboy Tab is Lisa’s favorite playmate. Tab has a complicated relationship with… read analysis of Tab

Frank

Frank is the class bully when Tab, Erica, and Lisa are young. His older brother is Bib. He hangs out with his cousins Pooch, Cheese, Ronny, and Karaoke (Adelaine… read analysis of Frank

Pooch

Pooch is Josh’s nephew and cousin to Frank, Cheese, Ronny, and Karaoke (Adelaine Jones). He has a troubled life; he lives with his grandmother because his father died by suicide… read analysis of Pooch

Cheese

Cheese is friends and cousins with Frank, Bib, Pooch, Ronny, and Karaoke; he’s also Josh’s nephew. Cheese has a no-nonsense approach to life and doesn’t believe in the supernatural… read analysis of Cheese

Josh

Josh lives in Kitamaat Village where he is uncle to Frank, Bib, Cheese, Pooch, Ronny, and Karaoke (Adelaine Jones). He and Uncle Mick were best friends and basketball teammates… read analysis of Josh

Aunt Edith

Aunt Edith is Uncle Geordie’s wife; aunt to Dad and his siblings; and great-aunt to Lisa, Jimmy, Tab, and Erica. She refuses to let old age or arthritis slow her… read analysis of Aunt Edith

Uncle Geordie

Uncle Geordie is Dad’s uncle and thus great-uncle to Lisa, Jimmy, Tab, and Erica. He is married to Aunt Edith. He and Edith remain active in the family, participating… read analysis of Uncle Geordie

Ba-ba-oo

Ba-ba-oo, whose proper name is Sherman Hill, was Ma-ma-oo’s husband; father to Erica, Trudy, Mick, and Dad; and grandfather to Lisa, Jimmy, Tab, and Erica, although… read analysis of Ba-ba-oo

Aunt Trudy

Aunt Trudy is the second of Ma-ma-oo’s and Ba-ba-oo’s daughters; sister to Aunt Erica, Uncle Mick, and Dad; mother to Tab; and aunt to Lisa, Jimmy, and… read analysis of Aunt Trudy

Erica

Erica is cousin to Jimmy, Lisa, and Tab; little sister to J.J.; and Aunt Kate’s daughter. She is a girly girl who doesn’t like playing with boys when she is… read analysis of Erica

Karaoke (Adelaine Jones)

Karaoke, whose real name is Adelaine Jones, is the most beautiful girl in Kitamaat Village. She’s Josh’s niece and cousin to Frank, Bib, Cheese, Pooch, and Ronnie. She has… read analysis of Karaoke (Adelaine Jones)

Aunt Kate

Aunt Kate is Ma-ma-oo’s and Ba-ba-oo’s oldest daughter; sister to Uncle Mick, Aunt Trudy, and Dad; and mother to J.J. and Erica. Unlike Trudy and Mick, she missed residential… read analysis of Aunt Kate

Barry

Barry is a friend of Mick’s and Cookie’s brother. He and Mick met when both were activists in the A.I.M. Although Mick quit after Cookie’s death, Barry stayed on. He and Mick remain… read analysis of Barry

Cookie

Cookie was Barry’s sister and Mick’s on-again, off-again wife. She and Mick met at a protest when both were involved in the A.I.M. Cookie was a strong-willed, opinionated woman who earned her nickname… read analysis of Cookie

Mimayus (Eunice)

Miyamus is the nickname given to Ma-ma-oo’s sister, Eunice. “Miyamus” is a Haisla word that means “pain in the ass.” Ma-ma-oo remembers Mimayus as a beautiful and flirtatious girl who left Kitamaat to work… read analysis of Mimayus (Eunice)

Minor Characters

Alexis

Named after Lisa’s favorite soap opera character, Alexis is the cat whom Dad gives to her for her 11th birthday. Alexis is a prodigious hunter whom Jimmy distrusts around his crows. She disappears one day, never to return.

Lou Ann

Lou Ann is Erica’s friend and “enforcer” who challenges Lisa to a fight one day in middle school. Lisa responds by punching Lou Ann in the face.

Screwy Ruby

Screwy Ruby is a resident of Kitamaat Village whom the local children believe to be a witch. She seems to be unhoused and likes to wander the village at night looking for loose change.

J.J.

J.J. is Lisa’s cousin, Erica’s older brother, and Aunt Kate’s son. He rescues Lisa from trouble twice, once when Frank torments her in grade school and once when she and Erica run afoul of some white men at the mall.

Ronny

Ronny is a cousin to Karaoke (Adelaine Jones), Frank, Bib, Pooch, and Cheese. She likes to hang out with Karaoke and try to emulate a tough, biker-chick look.

Julie

Julie is a classmate of Frank, Pooch, Cheese, and Lisa, who goes to middle school graduation with Frank and subsequently begins dating him.

Doris Jenkins

Doris Jenkins is a therapist at the Kitimat Hospital who has one meeting with Lisa in the aftermath of Mick’s and Ma-ma-oo’s deaths.

Bib

Bib is Frank’s older brother and cousin to Pooch, Cheese, Ronny, and Karaoke (Adelaine Jones).

Monkey Beach

Eden Robinson

Monkey Beach Characters