Sunny Side Up

Patrick Hearn is Sunny’s grandfather. He lives in a retirement community near Vero Beach, Florida, where he has built a strong and supportive community of friends. This community, along with his consistently kind treatment of Sunny, demonstrates that Pat is a loving and warm person. His willingness to take Sunny in for several weeks shows his generosity and his love of family. He often proves oblivious to the emotional life of his 10-year-old granddaughter. For example, he does not seem to notice that she is bored by outings to the grocery store and distressed by the constant squeaking of the sofa bed, and he sometimes fails to give Sunny credit for her observational skills and intelligence—as when he believes that he can hide his smoking from her. However, when Sunny finally confronts him about his smoking, he is honest with her, and when she finally talks about Dale, he does not try to hide the unpleasant truth about what is happening in her family. He listens carefully to her concerns and tries to reassure her that Dale’s situation is not her fault.

Patrick serves as an excellent role model of positive thinking and optimism. As soon as Sunny arrives in Florida, he assures her that they will have a wonderful visit. He gushes about his new car and all of its features, proudly shows off his home’s coral decor, and cannot wait to demonstrate the sofa bed to her. He repeatedly tells her that he has great plans for the day, and even when those great plans are mundane tasks like going to the post office, Pat is genuinely excited and enthusiastic. When Buzz’s family invites Sunny and Pat over for dinner, Pat demonstrates his enthusiasm by dressing up in a suit and bringing flowers, and he later tells Sunny that Buzz has “a lovely family” (168). As Sunny prepares to board her flight home at the end of the summer, he tells her, “Keep your sunny side up!” (215).

Deb is Sunny’s best friend at home in Pennsylvania. The two girls live near to one another and attend the same school. They are depicted spending time together in Sunny’s room, engaging in activities typical for girls of the time, such as listening to music, talking about haircuts, and reading teen magazines. Deb is a source of support, companionship, and normalcy in Sunny’s life. She has a similar sense of humor to Sunny’s, and they can joke together about things together. She gives Sunny honest feedback about her new haircut and commiserates with Sunny about how much Teddy cries. Sunny is excited about spending the upcoming family vacation with this supportive and enthusiastic friend.

However, Sunny’s reluctance to tell Deb her real feelings about Dale shows when Sunny makes a wish for a “Terrific brother!” (27) and then immediately feels that she has to pretend she was talking about Teddy’s crying rather than Dale’s substance use. This moment shows the depths of Sunny’s confusion and shame about Dale’s behavior; to her, it is so mortifying that she cannot even share it with Deb, her closest and most caring friend. Deb’s function as an illustration of Sunny’s growing isolation occurs again when Dale drives by the bus stop and throws a bottle out of the car window. The two friends are engaged in a normal conversation about school, and Sunny is just about to share her feelings about a book she is reading when Dale’s rowdy behavior interrupts them. When Deb asks, “Was that your brother?” (137), Sunny looks down at the ground, her grimace and hunched shoulders conveying her mortification. Deb’s presence in the narrative highlights Sunny’s reticence and helps to convey The Harmful Impact of Secrets by showing that Sunny’s desire to avoid talking about Dale’s behavior gradually separates her from her best sources of support.

Dale Lewin is Sunny’s older brother. He has recently graduated high school and is living with his parents and younger siblings. His long hair and sloppy clothing send the message that he does not endorse the conventional values of his suburban surroundings. Sunny’s encounter with Dale’s former 11th-grade teacher implies that Dale is not a strong student and that his nonconformity has caused problems with school authorities. Sunny’s memory of the day that Dale jumped into the pool during adult swim time and got all of the other kids to join him demonstrates that Dale does not respect adult authority and believes that “[r]ules are stupid” (49). As Sunny’s flashbacks progress, her memories show that Dale’s behavior has become increasingly damaging to his family relationships. This issue drives the novel’s central conflict as Sunny struggles to cope with the impact of Dale’s actions.

At first, Dale’s ire is mainly aimed at his parents, who try to reign in his desire to come and go as he pleases and to associate with problematic friends. He disputes the idea that they have a right to monitor and control his activities, and he responds to their attempts by lying and sneaking around. Although he showers Sunny with brotherly affection by spending time with her at the pool, buying her ice cream, and inviting her along when he runs errands, he also pressures her to lie for him so that he can stay out of trouble with his parents. As he becomes more alienated from the family and more tied to his addictions, he begins making choices that have an even greater negative impact on Sunny. He embarrasses her in front of her schoolmates, scares her when she finds him smoking under a bridge, and accidentally hits her when he is trying to punch his father. Dale’s journey demonstrates the many ways in which addiction can corrupt relationships and impact loved ones—even innocent children like Sunny.