The Man Who Loved Clowns

Punky is Delrita’s uncle—Delrita’s mom and Uncle Bert’s brother. Punky was born with Down syndrome, a genetic disorder that causes intellectual disability and unusual physical features. Punky turns 35 in the novel, but his behavior is similar to a young child’s. He is short, and most adult clothing doesn’t fit him, so he always wears a red tracksuit. He also wears a cowboy hat whenever he leaves the house. Punky has an attachment to the cowboy hat, as he does to many other inanimate objects, including a lunchbox that he uses to store several clown figurines. Punky is fixated on clowns, a symbol that connects to him throughout the novel; like a clown, he is joyful, fun-loving, and childlike. Punky embodies a classic archetype of The Innocent. He is optimistic, sees the good in everyone, and has an endlessly good heart. Unencumbered by the everyday stresses of life—unlike the other characters—he has the strongest moral compass out of everyone else, and he serves as a moral guide to others around him.

Punky is a flat character in that he has a few strong traits—he is joyful, loving, innocent, and playful—and he is fully predictable. He is also static, in that the events of the novel don’t evoke significant change in him. Even when Delrita’s parents (who are also his caretakers) die in an accident, his personality remains the same. Punky does miss Sam and Shirley, but he never fully understands that they are dead and cannot return. However, some aspects of his character change, as Delrita notes, when he starts working at a sheltered workshop—he stops biting his nails and pulling at his hair as he makes friends and learns new skills, and Delrita notes that he is eager to get out of bed each day, having found a sense of purpose.

Punky is at risk of heart failure due to his Down syndrome, and he has a shortened life expectancy. His family lives in fear that something may happen to him, and they always carry emergency heart medication when Punky leaves the house. At the end of the novel, Punky suffers from a cardiac event and ends up dying a few days later. He remains cheerful as ever, even through his illness and suffering, illustrating the constant nature of his character. The last thing he says before passing away is that he sees Sam and Shirley, which helps to bring closure not only to him but also to Delrita and her aunt and uncle.

Shirley and Sam are Delrita’s parents. Shirley is Punky’s sister, and Sam is his brother-in-law. Shirley has been Punky’s legal guardian and caretaker ever since their mother passed away. When their mother was still alive, she tried to shelter Punky from the outside world to keep him safe. To honor her mother’s wishes, Shirley takes the same approach with Punky. She loves him deeply and keeps him close to home, much to Aunt Queenie’s dismay. 

Shirley and Sam got married right out of college and had kids when they were young—at the time of the novel, Delrita is 13, and Shirley is 37. They are good parents, have a strong marriage, and own an antique store together. They move to Tangle Nook from a rural town because they think Delrita will fare better socially at a bigger school. Shirley and Sam are both round, static characters. They care about Delrita and Punky—Shirley worries a lot about Punky’s health and is hesitant to let him out of her sight. She often argues with Aunt Queenie about how to best care for Punky. Even though Shirley and Queenie have ongoing conflict, Shirley makes efforts to include them in family events and Punky’s life, as she has a strong family value. 

Sam tends to be socially reserved, but he takes Shirley’s side on family conflicts. Despite being a “loner,” Sam is very friendly and often makes jokes that make Shirley and Delrita laugh. He is Delrita’s “biggest fan,” and he encourages her to carve a swan with outstretched wings even though Delrita doesn’t think she’s skilled enough. The sentiment is symbolic of his desire for Delrita to push herself and branch out socially. In the middle of the novel, Sam and Shirley die together in a tragic car accident.

Uncle Bert is Punky and Shirley’s brother, and Aunt Queenie is Uncle Bert’s wife, making her Punky’s sister-in-law and Delrita’s aunt. In the first half of the novel, Aunt Queenie’s character is a foil to Delrita and her parents, as they have opposite lifestyles and views. Aunt Queenie is meticulously neat and organized, and she is obsessed with keeping her home clean and adorned with fancy décor. Delrita’s parents, on the other hand, let Punky throw chicken wing bones behind the television. Aunt Queenie openly criticizes and argues with Delrita’s parents for letting Punky do whatever he wants—she thinks he needs more structure. Uncle Bert is a flat and static supporting character—he is loyal and loving to his family. When Aunt Queenie argues with Shirley over Punky’s care, Uncle Bert doesn’t participate on either side but rather tries to diffuse the conflict. 

After Delrita’s parents die, she and Punky move in with Bert and Queenie, and they become their legal guardians. At this point, Uncle Bert and Aunt Queenie make a big effort to act as parent figures to them both. Queenie insists on Punky joining the sheltered workshop, which Delrita first thinks is out of selfishness but eventually realizes is out of concern for Punky’s wellbeing. Bert also encourages Punky to get a job, and he makes sure that Delrita understands that he and Queenie have Punky’s best interests in mind. 

Aunt Queenie is a dynamic character. At first, Queenie is set in her ways, and she is unwilling to accept Delrita’s perspective on what is best for Punky. She often argues with Delrita and is annoyed by her after Delrita and Punky move in. However, after having several arguments with Delrita, Queenie learns to be more accepting of the lifestyle Delrita and Punky are used to. She owns up to her wrongdoings, admitting that she has been too stuck in her ways. She even tells Delrita that she is “trying hard to be a bit of a slob” (196). Aunt Queenie adapts to Delrita and Punky and changes the rules in her house so that Delrita can do her woodcarving in the living room (despite wood shavings getting on the floor), and she even lets Punky throw chicken wing bones behind the TV. Eventually, Delrita comes to understand that Aunt Queenie simply wants what is best for her family, and she has a different way of showing it.