"Sarny, a Life to Remember" By: Gary PaulsenCharacter DescriptionsThe characters in this story are very interesting people. They each lead their own lifestyle and have their own best interests at heart. Some of the main characters in this novel are: Sarny, Lucy, Miss Laura, Bartlett, Stanley and Sarny's two children, Little Delie and Tyler. Sarny is the central character of this book. She is smart and knows exactly what to do, even in the worst times. She is, however, very emotional and can break down and cry as soon as the slightest thing happens. Perhaps this comes from her experience as a slave earlier in her life. Sarny enjoys teaching people, as a friend named Nightjohn taught him. Lucy is Sarny's close friend. She is also quite wise, but sometimes a little too optimistic. She never stops smiling and is very friendly. However, she helps Sarny find her lost children. Miss Laura is a middle-aged woman who lives a very luxurious life. She gives Sarny and Lucy a place to live and offers them a job. She also finds Sarny's children for her. Bartlett also works for Miss Laura. He is a calm and patient man, helpful and rather kind. However, he was castrated as a young slave and cannot have children. Stanley is Sarny's second husband, as her first died after working herself to death on the plantation. Stanley is a gentle, tall, fun-loving man who is not intimidated by anything. This leads to his death when he becomes angry with a white man and is confronted by the Ku Klux Klan. Little Delie and Tyler are Sarny's lost children. Once she gets them back and they grow up, Little Delie begins to like business, while Tyler wants to become a doctor.ProtagonistThe protagonist, or main character of this story, is of course Sarny. She was never born with a last name because she grew up on a plantation as an African-American slave. When Sarny has her children sold to another plantation owner, she is deeply hurt. However, when she was freed by Union troops, she immediately left to find her children. Sarny meets quite a few people along the way, but eventually reunites with his beloved children.AntagonistThe antagonists of this story are the racist white people of the South. Waller, the plantation owner who once owned Sarny and sold her children; the gray Confederate soldiers who fought to keep slavery; and the people who continue to burn Sarny's schools and kill her husband.