Talley and Son (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)

At a glance:

  • Author: Lanford Wilson
  • First Published: 1986
  • Type of Work: Play
  • Type of Plot: Comic realism
  • Time of Work: July 4, 1944
  • Setting: The Talley Place, near Lebanon, Missouri
  • Genres: Domestic realism
  • Subjects: Values
  • Locales: Missouri

Characters Discussed

Calvin Stuart Talley, the eighty-year-old patriarch of the Talley family. He is dazed and confused most of the time, but he has flashes of lucidity, during which he asserts his power over Eldon and Lottie, his children, who hate him. As far as Calvin is concerned, the only one of his children who was ever worth anything was Stuart, who has been dead for more than twenty- five years. Calvin is a shrewd and ruthless businessman. He keeps his records locked away and written in code so he will retain control. When a scandal over Eldon’s adultery threatens to...

[The entire page is 671 words long]

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