Tricks

Seth is another of the five main narrators. He is from Indiana and grew up on his father’s farm. Seth’s mother died from cancer, and his grief over this loss fuels his guilt and shame throughout the novel. Seth is gay but keeps his identity a secret for years because he knows that his father holds antigay bias. Seth is forced to out himself when his father finds a love letter from his lover, Loren. Seth’s father kicks him out of the house for being gay, and Seth must move in with Carl, who abuses and takes advantage of Seth’s vulnerability.

Seth’s main internal conflict comes from his struggle to accept his identity. Seth must perform heteronormativity for most of his life because he fears that his family will not accept him. These fears manifest themselves when Seth’s father kicks him out of the house. Seth holds onto his belief that his mother would have loved him if she found out that he was gay, although he oftentimes feels uncertain about this. A priest sexually abused Seth when he was a child, which left him confused. While Seth understands later that the priest should not have touched him, he has conflicted feelings because the abuse caused Seth to feel accepted. Since everyone in his hometown was biased toward gay people, Seth’s knowledge that the priest was gay helped Seth feel more comfortable with his sexuality. Seth realizes through this abuse and his complex relationship with his father that he does not know how to have a healthy relationship with someone else because he has never felt safe to be himself.

Seth’s experience with The Struggle With Identity and Self-Worth makes him a target for Carl, who knows that he can take advantage of Seth. Seth being “kept” by Carl reveals his misplaced desire to be loved. Although Seth knows that he does not have to mask his identity when he is with Carl, Carl’s obsessive control of Seth’s life reveals his objectification of Seth and his body. Additionally, Seth struggles with his masculinity because he grew up with a stereotypical definition of what makes someone a “real man.” Seth hopes to show others that, despite his sexuality, he is still masculine because he knows that someone else’s approval and his strengthened sense of self can take the place of his father’s lack of love.

Whitney is another of the five main narrators. She grows up in a privileged household with a mother who ignores her, an absent father, and her sister, Kyra, whom she feels her mother loves more than her. Despite her access to wealth, Whitney’s downfall is drastic, as her desire to be loved leads her to make decisions that she would not normally make. Whitney misplaces her desire to be accepted and loved by her mother into her sexual relationships. When Lucas does not reciprocate her love, it causes her to spiral into destructive behavior. Although Whitney knows that Bryn is not good for her, she pursues him because he makes her feel unique—a characteristic that Bryn takes advantage of to exploit her.

Whitney’s struggle with addiction shapes her narration. Hopkins shows irony in Whitney’s narration because of her caution around drugs earlier in the novel. Yet Whitney does not apply the same caution to the men she surrounds herself with, which is why when Bryn promises her that heroin is not addictive if she smokes it, she believes him. Bryn sells Whitney to another man and watches as he rapes her. Despite this, Whitney feels helpless to escape from Bryn because she wants to believe him. Whitney’s obsession with Bryn leads to her downfall because she becomes a victim of the commercial sexual exploitation of children at 15 years old.

Although Whitney is addicted to drugs, she reflects on the fact that she hardly recognizes herself. This shame prevents Whitney from finding help, as she continues believing the lie that Bryn will love her. Whitney’s only hope lies in the weaving of her narrative with Ginger’s narration, as Ginger saves her life after one of her customers tries to strangle her. While Ginger and Whitney do not have many interactions, Whitney regains a sense of worth through her interactions with Ginger. Whitney is a dynamic character, as she changes by the novel’s end. The resolve in Whitney’s storyline stems from her healing with her mother. Whitney’s mother’s apology for pushing her toward finding love outside of the home leads to the hope for Whitney’s sobriety. Although Whitney does not find sobriety in Tricks, she ends the novel by going to rehab. Thus, Hopkins alludes to The Possibility of Healing in the Face of Adversity and her recovery in the sequel.

Ginger is another of the five main narrators. She lives with her mother, Iris; her grandmother, Gram; and her six siblings. Iris is a sex worker, and Ginger does not respect her, especially because Ginger must make up for Iris’s lack of maternal instincts. Ginger is the main caretaker for her siblings since Iris does not help, which highlights The Impact of Family and Societal Pressures on Youth. After a motorcyclist hits her little brother Sandy, Ginger realizes that Iris does not care about her children’s safety. Ginger falls in love with Alex and decides to run away with her because they both live in unsafe environments.

Ginger’s trauma as a survivor of rape drives her narrative. Her realization that Iris has sold her to Iris’s boyfriends over the years causes Ginger to escape, even though she feels guilty leaving her siblings behind. Ginger must face her stigma about Iris’s line of work when she begins stripping in Las Vegas. Although Ginger thinks that stripping is different than sex work, she has a new level of empathy for Iris when Alex turns to the commercial sexual exploitation of children. Ginger realizes that Iris may have wanted to have a different life at one point but that she was taken advantage of by older men, a dynamic that mirrors what Alex starts to experience. While this realization does not absolve Iris of exposing Ginger to sexual violence, it does cause Ginger to realize that people’s experiences are complex and nuanced. While at the novel’s start, she has little sympathy for her mother, she displays increased empathy throughout the novel; thus, she is a dynamic character.

Ginger’s love for Alex causes her to stay in a situation longer than she wants to because she believes that Alex wants to move to another city. When Ginger learns that Alex has lied to her about knowing about Lydia’s business, Ginger realizes that Alex has taken advantage of her just like everyone else in her life. While Ginger still loves Alex, she struggles to understand her reasoning, which underlines the complexities of trusting other people. Ginger tries to save Alex, but they end up getting arrested in the process. Ginger realizes that she will need to reprioritize herself at the end of the novel. Ginger sees that the only avenue for The Possibility of Healing in the Face of Adversity is to value herself rather than sacrifice her needs for other people who do not care about her.