Who are the main characters in Trouble by Gary D. Schmidt?

The main character in Trouble is Henry Smith. His comfortable upbringing in Blythbury-by-the-Sea, on the coast of Massachusetts, is disrupted when his older brother Franklin is killed in a road accident while out jogging. In tribute to him, Henry, along with his friend Sanborn Brigham, decides to make good on his brother's last words and climb Mount Katahdin in Maine.

On the way, Henry is reacquainted with the Cambodian immigrant Chay Chouan—the man accused of killing Franklin. It is through him, and through his own sister Louisa, that Henry learns some uncomfortable truths about his family.

At the time of Franklin's death, Chay and Louisa were in a relationship. However, knowing how Franklin felt about immigrants, Louisa kept their relationship secret. On the night of Franklin's death, she was driving Chay's car when she saw Franklin jogging toward them. Frightened that he would see her with Chay, she lost control of the vehicle and hit him. Chay told the police he had been driving the car to protect her.

The most important main character in Gary D. Schmidt's novel Trouble is the protagonist, Henry Smith. Henry is the protagonist because he is the central character who changes as a result of resolving the story's conflict. The other three main characters are the ones who are with him the most as he grows and changes as a character and even help him to grow and change. Those three characters are Sanborn, Chay, and Black Dog.

At the start of the story, Henry believes in his father's ideal philosophy that "if you build your house far enough away from Trouble, then Trouble will never find you" (p. 1). But, as the story progresses, Henry comes to realize that, contrary to what his father would like to believe, not only is trouble inescapable, we often need to embrace trouble in order to do what is morally right.

Henry encounters major trouble for the first time in his life when his older brother is accidentally hit by a truck believed to have been driven by Chay. Though Franklin survives with critical injuries for a little while, Franklin soon dies of severe brain trauma. Prior to his death, Franklin had taunted Henry with the prospect of climbing Katahdin together because Franklin believed Henry didn't have enough nerve to undertake the dangerous challenge. After Franklin's death, Henry feels driven to prove his brother wrong and sets out as a hitchhiker with his dog, called Black Dog, and his best friend Sanborn. Henry encounters more trouble when they are picked up by Chay, who is running away north because of his own problems.

The more Henry gets to know Chay, the more he sees Chay's innocence and Chay's own suffering. Alongside Sanborn, Henry faces the opportunity to rescue Chay from two fishermen who were Vietnam War veterans and want to attack Chay because they have mistaken him for Vietnamese. It is when Henry sees Chay's innocence and decides to defend him that Henry changes the most because he sees his father had been wrong in his view of trouble.

What is the main conflict in Gary D. Schmidt's novel Trouble?

Gary D. Schmidt's novel Trouble is an extremely complex story with multiple interweaving conflicts. However, the primary conflict is character vs. self since Henry Smith, the protagonist, undertakes the task of venturing off to climb Mount Katahdin in order to overcome his feelings of self-doubt.

Though Henry's older brother Franklin was praised as the perfect person while alive, in reality, he was a very hurtful person. Two years prior to the start of the story, Franklin had taught Henry how to climb after Henry had had a near-fatal fall from the black boulders in Salvage Cove near their house, yet Franklin later challenges Henry to climb Katahdin with him only because Franklin thinks Henry doesn't have enough guts to complete the dangerous task. As Henry's sister Louisa points out, "He told you that you couldn't make it to ... hurt you" (p. 145).

In addition to wanting to overcome feelings of self-doubt, Henry feels he must defy his father's belief that one should stay as far away from trouble as possible.

The central conflict is resolved the moment Henry takes a stand to rescue Chay Chouan, believed to have been driving the truck when Franklin was hit, from racially prejudiced Vietnam War veterans who want to attack him. The moment Henry undertakes to rescue Chay is the moment he realizes just how wrong his father had been. Instead of staying away from trouble, Henry realizes, "You have to live where Trouble is," because sometimes you must embrace trouble in order to do what's morally right (p. 264). The moment Henry does what's morally right is also the moment he overcomes all feelings of self-doubt since it is his bravest moment.

Stating the main conflict of this book is a bit difficult. Schmidt intricately weaves a few major conflicts throughout Trouble, and I believe different readers will see a different main conflict.  

One central conflict is definitely a man vs. nature conflict. Henry and the other three climbers struggle to climb Katahdin. As with all mountain climbing, it's dangerous. The group is risking their lives, so I would be remiss to think this part of the story is not a central conflict.  

There is conflict within the group, too. Henry wants to do the climb alone, but his best friend won't let him. Chay Chouan also wants to climb with the group. He is the guy who was supposedly driving the car that killed Henry's brother. Lastly, Henry's little sister wants to join the group. If you've grown up with younger siblings, you know there's conflict when they always want to "tag along."  

Internally, Henry struggles to come to terms with the real person his brother was. Henry idolized his older brother Franklin, but Henry learns Franklin wasn't all that wonderful to other people.  

There are other conflicts present throughout the book too, and a central theme of the book focuses on the book's title—Trouble. Trouble and conflict can't be avoided. The key to living well is appropriately managing and dealing with trouble.