"Sarny, a Life Remembered" by: Gary PaulsenCharacter DescriptionsThe characters in this story are very interesting people. They each lead their own lifestyle and have their own interests at heart. Some of the main characters in this novel are: Sarny, Lucy, Miss Laura, Bartlett, Stanley, and Sarny's two children, Little Delie and Tyler. Sarny is the central character of this book. He is intelligent and knows exactly what to do even in the worst moments. However she is very emotional and can break down and cry when the slightest thing happens. This perhaps stems from what she experienced as a slave earlier in her life. Sarny likes to teach people, as a friend named Nightjohn once taught her. Lucy is Sarny's close friend. She's also quite wise, but sometimes she's a little too optimistic. He never stops smiling and is very friendly. However, he helps Sarny find his lost children. Miss Laura is a middle-aged woman who lives a very luxurious life. He gives Sarny and Lucy a place to live and offers them jobs. Sarny's children also find them. Bartlett also works for Miss Laura. He is a quiet and patient man, helpful and very kind. However he was castrated as a young slave and cannot have children. Stanley is Sarny's second husband, as her first died from working himself to death on the plantation. Stanley is a kind, big, fun-loving man, but he isn't intimidated by anything. This leads to his death when he becomes angry at a white man and confronts the Ku Klux Klan. Little Delie and Tyler are Sarny's long-lost children. After she gets them back and they grow up, little Delie begins to enjoy business, while Tyler wants to become a doctor. Protagonist The protagonist, or main character of this story is obviously Sarny. She was never born with a last name as she grew up on a plantation as an African American slave. When Sarny has her children sold to another plantation owner, she is deeply hurt. However, when she is freed by Union troops, she immediately goes looking for her children. Sarny meets several people along the way, but eventually finds his beloved children. Antagonist The antagonists in this story are racist white Southerners. Waller, the plantation owner, who once owned Sarny and sold her children; the gray Confederate soldiers fighting for slavery to remain; and the people who continue to burn down Sarny's schools and kill her husband.