This article is an excerpt from the Shortform summary of "Where the Crawdads Sing" by Delia Owens. Shortform has the world's best summaries of books you should be reading.
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Who are the Where the Crawdads sing characters? What roles do they play in the book?
All of the Where the Crawdads Sing characters are rich and interesting people who play important roles in the story. You can read about the major Where the Crawdads Sing Characters below.
Where the Crawdads Sing Characters: Kya’s Family
These Where the Crawdads Sing characters are major characters from Kya’s family. Keep in mind that there are other Where the Crawdads Sing characters that were Kya’s family members, who were only mentioned briefly.
Kya
This Where the Crawdads Sing character list begins with the main character, Kya. When Kya was just six years old, her mother, Ma, walked out of the tiny shack Kya shared with her four siblings and parents, and Ma never came back. Kya’s father, Pa, was an abusive alcoholic, and over the next weeks, he would drive away all of Kya’s older siblings, including her beloved brother and mentor Jodie.
One day, after not seeing Kya for several years, Tate came back and tried to win Kya’s forgiveness. Tate had reasoned that Kya would never belong in his new academic world, but he hadn’t had the courage to break up with her. He’d just disappeared. But after realizing he loved her more than anyone he’d met at college, he decided the rest of it didn’t matter. He wanted her back. He apologized to Kya for leaving her and said he still loved her. Kya wanted to believe him, but she knew she would never trust him again. Still, they became friends, and Tate helped Kya publish a book based on her meticulous collection of marsh specimens, which now were organized like a university research lab. With the money from the book, Kya was able to renovate the shack and stop digging for mussels.
The whole community showed up for Kya’s funeral. They’d felt ashamed for how they’d treated her and for condemning her during the trial. She was now a renowned expert of marsh life and author of seven books. When the mourners left, Tate noticed a hidden compartment under the kitchen floor. Inside, he found Chase’s shell necklace. He realized everything the prosecution said was actually true. Tate put the shell back into the sea, hiding Kya’s secret forever.
Jodie
Next on the Where the Crawdads Sing Character list is Kya’s older brother, Jodie.
Jodie, the youngest of Kya’s four older siblings, stood with her. He promised that Ma would return, that mothers don’t abandon their children. But he didn’t sound convinced. Jodie was seven years older and had always been Kya’s mentor of sorts, teaching her about marsh wildlife and how to navigate the waterways in Pa’s boat. Kya wanted to believe him, but she sensed the suitcase and heels told a different story.
Kya looked at her brother with emotion. She didn’t blame him. He was a victim just as she was. She asked if he knew anything about their other siblings or mother. Jodie didn’t know anything about their brother or sisters, but he’d found out a week ago that their mother had died two years earlier. Kya crumbled at the news.
Pa
Pa had come to the land by way of inheritance and taken residence in the shabby lean-to made from palmettos. He was a WWII vet on disability because of a leg injury sustained during the war. He walked with a limp, was a hard drinker, and was an even harder man to stomach around the house.
The only income the family had was Pa’s disability checks from the Army. He took most of the money for himself, but he gave Kya a dollar and some change to buy food in exchange for her taking on the role of woman-of-the-house: cleaning, doing the laundry, stockpiling wood for the stove, and cooking all the meals.
By the time Kya was ten, Pa was a passing mirage in the shack. He’d stay out for weeks at a time, not bothering to leave any money. Soon, she was able to count several full moons since she last saw him. She imagined all the things that could have happened to Pa, like being beaten up during a poker game or falling drunk into the swamp and drowning. Whatever had happened, Kya knew that Pa wasn’t going to come back.
Unlike with Ma, Pa leaving didn’t make her feel abandoned, just lonely. She was also scared that someone would find out he was gone and take her to live somewhere else. The marsh was her home, and the birds needed her. Leaving wasn’t an option. To avoid the authorities, she’d have to pretend Pa was still at home.
Where the Crawdads Sing Characters: Friends and Enemies
These Where the Crawdads Sing characters are people Kya met outside of her family. Some, like Jumpin and Mabel, did their best to help Kya. Others, like Chase, treated her cruelly. Again, there are others Where the Crawdads Sing characters not on this list, such as Tate’s father, and other townspeople.
Jumpin’ and Mabel
Jumpin’ and Mabel are two characters in Where the Crawdads Sing that cared deeply about Kya. Kya only attended one day of school in her life. Whenever the truant officer came looking for her, she hid in the woods behind her shack. Without Pa, Kya had no money or food. She started digging for mussels before dawn and sold them to Jumpin’, an old black man who owned a gas and supply store on a wharf near her marsh. Jumpin’ bought Kya’s mussels and continued to do so over the years. He and his wife, Mabel, also collected clothes, toiletries, and shoes for Kya from members of their church. A deep bond formed as the couple began to care for Kya as one of their own.
With Jumpin’ and Mabel’s help, Kya was able to survive her childhood alone in the marsh. She grew into a natural navigator and expert of marsh life, collecting various specimens, such as feathers, bones, nests, and shells. She used an old guidebook to identify the species of each and placed each item next to paintings she made. She didn’t know their names, however, because she still couldn’t read.
Tate
Tate and his father are characters in Where the Crawdads Sing that are naturally kind, thoughtful people. When Kya was fourteen, she found a feather stuck in a stump. She suspected it had come from a boy she’d seen running by a few moments before. The feather was rare, and the next day there was another. A game proceeded, with each leaving feathers for the other, until one day, Kya finally met the boy. His name was Tate, and he’d been an old friend of Jodie’s.
Tate and Kya grew close quickly. He taught her to read, count, and connect with someone without fear. He was the first person since her family left that Kya let into her heart, and they fell in love. Tate visited her marsh whenever he could, and their bond grew deeper. A year later, Kya was crushed when Tate left for college. He promised to come back for her, but he never did. Once again, she’d been abandoned by someone she loved, and loneliness swallowed her up.
Chase Andrews
Finally, last on this Where the Crawdads Sing character list is Chase Andrews, who is the murder victim in the book—and Kya is accused of killing him.
Kya was ostracized by the townspeople of Barkley Cove. Everyone held a low opinion about people from the marsh, and rumors about the crazy Marsh Girl were common. Sometimes, Kya would see kids her age playing on one of the beaches between her marsh and town, and she’d watch, wishing she could be with them. One of these kids was a boy named Chase Andrews, the star quarterback for the local high school.
Everything changed after Chase finally slept with Kya. His visits became more sporadic, but he continued to talk of marriage and building her a house. Kya floated along with this dream, believing she’d finally have a family. Then, she saw an announcement in the local paper about Chase’s engagement to another woman and fell apart. She vowed never to let anyone in again.
The town was up in arms about the local hero’s death, and many pointed a finger at the Marsh Girl. They’d heard rumors about her and Chase and assumed she was a woman scorned. There was also a question about a missing shell necklace that Kya had given him, which Chase always wore. The most damning evidence was red fibers on the body that matched a red hat found at Kya’s shack. Kya was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.
There are many characters in Where the Crawdads Sing who aren’t mentioned here. The many residents of Barkely Cove, for example, or Kya’s editor who plays a key role in her trial defense. You can see read about all of the Where the Crawdads Sing characters in the book our in the full summary.
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Here's what you'll find in our full Where the Crawdads Sing summary :
- How Kya Clark's abandonment as a child affected her through her entire life
- How Kya discovered love despite steep obstacles
- The murder trial that embroiled Kya's town, and the ultimate truth behind the murder
