Catalyst

Teri Litch is Kate’s nemesis-turned-friend. Teri is an outsider at school. She is not pretty and polished like Kate’s friends, her family uses government assistance, and she was ridiculed for being overweight in ninth grade. She acts out in school and has the reputation of being a bully. Teri is a foil for Kate, or a character who highlights another character’s traits through opposing qualities. At first, Teri is the antithesis of everything Kate values. Teri has no awards or accolades, no status or college prospects. Kate cannot fathom the life Teri leads and judges her.

Kate can only grasp Teri’s emotional strength when learning of her difficult childhood. Suddenly, Teri’s suspicion, mocking sneer, reliance on brute strength, disagreeable temperament, and anger all make sense. The revelation that Mikey is really Teri’s son clarifies the extent of her circumstances.

Also revelatory is the knowledge that Teri’s father was abusive. He went to prison for beating Teri’s mother and carelessly wired the house to save money, which causes both the house fire and Mikey’s death. Anderson suggests that Teri’s father may also be Mikey’s, without giving a definitive answer.

Teri grows by learning to experience emotional vulnerability without resorting to anger and violence. She tries to destroy her house, where Mikey was electrocuted. Teri transcends her anger by accepting Kate’s friendship. She begins to resolve the long tragedy of her adolescence.

Mitch is Kate’s boyfriend. At the beginning of the novel, Mitch represents everything Kate values. He is attractive, popular, and wealthy; dating him gives Kate status. Her growing awareness of Mitch’s shallowness, egotism, and insensitivity is essential to her growth and coming of age. The reader sees Mitch’s character long before Kate does. Kate admits that “[f]alling in love makes you stupid” (32), but overlooks Mitch’s negative character traits. Confronting them would place her own actions and values in question.

Mitch is pretentious and privileged, qualities his three-part name reflects. His acceptance to Harvard means little to him; before Mikey’s death, he boasts that he will major in history, the most impractical field of study of which he can think. He drifts through classes, content to be popular. He believes that his charm is sufficient, that intellectual depth and curiosity are distractions. He places tremendous faith in his appearance. For most of the novel, Kate can’t see past his sexiness—his nickname is “Lips.” When Kate tells him that MIT rejected her, he is too self-absorbed to notice her anxiety and what attending her mother’s alma mater would have meant to her. To Mitch, Kate is a status symbol. Likewise, Mitch only sees the façade of Good Kate that Kate projects onto the world. Mitch is content not to delve into her character or feelings—things have always come easy to him, and he sees no need to invite difficulty.

Mitch’s snarky behavior toward Teri at the diner make Kate realize that he isn’t worthy of her. Mikey’s death is a turning point for Mitch, but his actions remain self-centered. Unlike Kate, whose epiphany is complex and entails seeing the humanity in others, Mitch thinks he can make his life meaningful by changing his major and cleaning his room. His privilege remains intact.