Essay

1992. In a novel or play, a confidant (male) or a confidante (female) is a character, often a friend or relative of the hero or heroine, whose role is to be present when the hero or heroine needs a sympathetic listener to confide in. Frequently the result is, as Henry James remarked, that the confident or the confidante can be as much “the reader's friend as the protagonists.” However, the author sometimes uses this character for other purposes as well. Choose a confidant or confidante from a novel or play of recognized literary merit and write an essay in which you discuss the various ways this character functions in the work. You may write your essay on one of the following novels or plays or on another of comparable quality. Do not write on a poem or short story.

      In Carson McCullers's The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, John Singer earned the confidence of many of the characters, such as Jake Blout, Biff Brannon, Mick Kelly, and Dr. Copeland. He listened attentively to their problems and did nothing but give to them. He was never rude to anyone he talked to, and helped his new friends feel comfortable in every way he could. In one instance, he even bought a radio to keep in his room for his guests, even though he was deaf and could not hear it. Singer was the confidant of many characters and earned the hearts of the reader as well as those of the characters.

     Singer's mute friend and roommate Antonapoulos, was put into an asylum by his cousin, which left Singer all alone. Although Antonapoulos was never the greatest friend to Singer, he understood him like no one else did. When he was institutionalized in the beginning of the novel, the reader already feels sympathy for Singer. He was left all alone, and that was one of the saddest parts in the book. The reader was set up from the onset to feel sorry for the mute, and that sympathy is brought back later in a much stronger form when Singer commits suicide. Antonapoulos died in the asylum, and Singer was devastated. His friend was gone. Really, really gone. He killed himself so he could be with his only true friend once more. McCullers used Singer as not only the confidant in the novel, but as a loyal and honest soul as well. He was almost the perfect person, but the author was saying that everyone is flawed, even the best of us like John Singer.

     Singer was the main confidant of many of the characters in The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, and they trusted him completely. Mick, a young girl who always dreamed of being a musician and composer, told him her innermost hopes and thoughts that she never told anyone else. Dr. Copeland was a black man who bettered his lot in life slightly by becoming a doctor and helped the blacks of the town. He was a communist, as was Jake Blout, and fantasized of the days when his race was treated equally. Copeland believed Singer understood what he was saying better than anyone else, and was the only good white man. Blout was much the same way in that he thought that Singer was one of the few people in the world who “knew.” He was a communist in different ways than Copeland, but they both believed they failed in their missions to recruit new, true followers to their cause. Biff Brannon was a simple man who enjoyed Singer's company. He ate in Brannon's restaurant every day at the same table, and it took a while before Biff spoke to him privately in Singer's room. He began to trust him, just as the others did.

     John Singer was one of the most honest, authentic, and genuine characters in this novel, and was loved not only by the other members of his town but as well as by anyone that has read The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter. He earned trust wherever he went, and the reader sympathizes with him from the beginning. Singer is a pure person and a trustworthy confidant and Biff Brannon, Mick Kelly, Jake Blout, and Dr. Copeland could never find someone that listened to them and cared like Singer did.