What the Eyes Don't See Characters
The main characters in What the Eyes Don’t See include Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, Elin, and Marc Edwards.
- Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha is the book’s author and narrator. A pediatrician with an activist background, she describes her efforts to research and expose the Flint water crisis.
- Elin is an old friend of the author’s and the first to draw Dr. Hanna-Attisha’s attention to the reality of the water crisis, which the two work together to address.
- Marc Edwards is a scientist who blew the whistle on the water crisis in Washington, DC, and arrives in Flint to do the same.
Characters
Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha
Dr. Hanna-Attisha is the narrator and protagonist of the book. She is a medical researcher, pediatric doctor, and educator at Hurley Medical Center outside of Flint, Michigan. The story describes her experiences trying to call public attention to high levels of lead in Flint’s water, to advocate for her patients and the community of Flint, and to convince the Michigan government to accept responsibility and fix the problem. She attributes much of her personality to lessons learned from her family, characterizing herself as a liberal, an idealist, and a community advocate. Based on her writing style, readers are also able to gain a sense of how her mind works: Dr. Hanna-Attisha often sees connections where others do not. Throughout the story, she breaks up the primary narrative of the water crisis with descriptions of family members, historical figures, and historical events. For Dr. Hanna-Attisha, each of these has a bearing on the primary narrative, although she often leaves it to the reader to determine what this bearing is.
Elliot
Elliot is Dr. Hanna-Attisha’s husband. He is also a pediatrician. At the time of the water crisis, he has recently had surgery on his arm, and as a result, it is often in a sling. Dr. Hanna-Attisha loves her husband; however, his part in the story is small. While Elliot offers the author support and encouragement, his role is ultimately minimal in the progression of the narrative.
Mark (Muaked)
Mark is Dr. Hanna-Attisha’s brother. Although his given name is Muaked, he has adopted the Anglicized name Mark. He lives in Washington, DC, with his two children. He is a partner at a public interest law firm and, like his sister, is committed to social justice.
Muafak
Muafak is Dr. Hanna Attisha’s father, a doctoral-level engineer, amateur historian, and recently retired employee of General Motors (GM). He was a political activist in Iraq, and due to his tension with the Iraqi government, he had to relocate his family to the US. Throughout his life, he has become more and more distant, becoming jaded as he watched atrocities unfold in his homeland at the hands of Saddam Hussein. During the time of the story, he is in China, working with an auto parts manufacturer.
Bebe (Talia)
Talia, or Bebe, is Dr. Hanna-Attisha’s mother, described as a short woman full of love. Raising Mona and Muaked in the US, she attempted to bring elements of Iraqi culture into their lives, growing native plants and speaking Arabic to them. Like her husband, she highly values education, and she is described as raising her children as an “Arab tiger mom.” Although she has a degree in chemistry, she worked as an English as a Second Language teacher before reluctantly retiring. Now retired, she often looks after her grandchildren, Nina and Layla. She offers a point of tension in the story, as she is prone to worry about her children; as such, until late in the story, Dr. Hanna-Attisha feels she must hide her activism from her mother.
Haji
Haji is Dr. Hanna-Attisha’s grandfather. He is the one who chose to name her Mona, meaning “hope” or “wish.” He is a businessman, described throughout the story as an idealist and a humanist. Although he has died by the time the story takes place, his kind and industrious nature influences Dr. Hanna-Attisha’s family, driving them to make the world a better place, and Dr. Hanna-Attisha discusses his influence in several of the chapters.
Nina and Layla
Nina and Layla are Dr. Hanna-Attisha’s nine- and seven-year-old daughters, described as “introverted and anxious” (Nina) and “direct and...
(This entire section contains 1638 words.)
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demanding” (Layla). Dr. Hanna-Attisha is often charged with taking care of them, driving them to either a day camp or soccer practice regularly, but like the author’s husband, the girls remain secondary within the story. When they are mentioned in the narrative, it is often because they wish they could spend more time with their mother.
Elin
Elin is a friend of Dr. Hanna-Attisha’s from high school; Dr. Hanna-Attisha characterizes her as an introverted, “all-American” blond beauty. With degrees in environmental science and engineering, she has worked for the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, DC, and currently works for a DC-based think tank, although she is bored with this job. She has recently relocated to Michigan to be closer to her family, and she is the reason Dr. Hanna-Attisha begins looking seriously into the water crisis in Flint. The two have been friends since high school, and throughout the story, Elin serves as a confidant and voice of reason for Dr. Hanna-Attisha. At times when Dr. Hanna-Attisha feels most frustrated or alone, Elin is often there to support her and validate her concerns, and she becomes a sounding board throughout the story.
Miguel del Toral
Miguel is an Environmental Protection Agency employee and one of the first whistleblowers to call attention to the potential of high lead levels in Flint water. The government works to discredit and bury his findings, and he is forced to leak his own memo to the press to garner public support and more research into the issue. By the end of the story, his advocacy has taken a toll on his physical health, and he can barely stand due to back pain.
Marc Edwards
Dr. Edwards is a biophysicist and expert on water and urban planning. He is the whistleblower who, over the course of several years, raised awareness about a lead crisis in DC’s water supply. He comes to Flint to help with their water crisis. He is characterized as compassionate, because he cares about the public good, but gruff. Although he is an excellent scientist, he can be dismissive and condescending to those who do not care to hear his research, and he is willing to use incendiary tactics to draw attention to his studies. As a result, some see him as an alarmist and discount his research, as sound as it may be. This is especially true of governmental officials who do not want to alarm the Flint population or be held accountable for their actions or inaction related to the Flint water crisis.
Brad Wurfel
Wurfel is a public speaker for the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ). He is highly skeptical of Dr. Hanna-Attisha’s research and seeks to discredit her findings throughout the story. At one point, Dr. Hanna-Attisha describes him as a “villain.”
Jenny
Jenny is a data analyst and friend of Dr. Hanna-Attisha’s at Hurley Medical Center. Like the author, she is committed to her job and to social justice in Flint. She also sees data analysis as an art. Throughout the second half of the story, she plays a large role in helping Dr. Hanna-Attisha to gather, analyze, and interpret blood-lead data for the children of Flint.
Melany
Melany is the CEO of Hurley Medical Center and is Dr. Hanna-Attisha’s boss. She supports Dr. Hanna-Attisha’s research into lead poisoning in Flint, despite the fact that Hurley is funded through the government, which seeks to discredit this research.
Dean Sienko
Referred to as “Dean Dean” throughout the story, Dean Sienko is a friend of Dr. Hanna-Attisha’s and a public health advocate, as well as an associate dean at Michigan State University (hence the playful name). Dr. Hanna-Attisha often relies on him for his straightlaced appearance and background as a major general, sometimes hoping that when he speaks and advocates for her, others might be drawn in or intimidated by his military history.
Kirk Smith
Kirk Smith is an acquaintance of Dr. Hanna-Attisha’s and the CEO of the Greater Flint Health Coalition. He offers Dr. Hanna-Attisha support throughout the story.
Lawrence Reynolds
Dr. Reynolds is the CEO of Mott Children’s Health Center. Dr. Hanna-Attisha reaches out to him early on, hoping for guidance and advocacy. He offers her support throughout the narrative.
Dayne Walling
Dayne Walling is the mayor of Flint, Michigan, during the time of the water crisis. Dr. Hanna-Attisha characterizes him as a puppet of the governor and of Republicans in general. Although he initially seems concerned about the crisis in Flint, he eventually suggests that lead in the water is not an issue if people are running their taps regularly, and he feels that there are more important matters to attend to.
Rick Snyder
Rick Snyder is the governor of Michigan during the Flint water crisis. He is largely absent from the story, but he appears at the end to give a press conference. Later on he visits Dr. Hanna-Attisha to apologize and discuss options for moving forward and improving the Flint community. While many of his actions are reparatory at the end of the story, Dr. Hanna-Attisha implicates his initial negligence as one of the major problems contributing to the water crisis.
Jim Ananich
Jim Ananich is a Michigan senator. He is one of the few governmental officials who seems open to Dr. Hanna-Attisha’s research, and he supports her throughout most of the story.
Nick Lyon
Nick Lyon is the director of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. He is skeptical of Dr. Hanna-Attisha’s work and attempts several times to sidestep accountability for the Flint water crisis.
Grace
Grace is the mother of Reeva and Nakala, two of Dr. Hanna-Attisha’s patients. Dr. Hanna-Attisha often thinks of Grace throughout the story, and Grace becomes a kind of proxy for the people of Flint: those who are simply trying to live their lives and take care of their children, despite great adversity. Grace’s children become a kind of motivation for Dr. Hanna-Attisha, and she often thinks of Reeva and Nakala when she is unsure of herself and needs to remind herself why she has become involved in the water crisis.
