Character Analysis
Liza Hamilton
Liza is Samuel's God-fearing wife. She's mean, she hates fun, and she only reads the Bible, but she is the yin to Samuel's yang. He depends on her when he needs a healthy dose of realism.
Will Hamilton
Will, Samuel's son, is a born businessman, and the only successful Hamilton of the bunch. But it comes at a price: poor Will, though the most rational and financially successful, is the least creative of the bunch. He pays the bills, but his family "didn't even know they needed him" (41.3.34). So when Cal Trask comes to him asking for help, he totally gets it.
Tom Hamilton
Tom is like the opposite of Will: an emotional, guilt-ridden dreamer "arguing with greatness" (23.1.18), as his father Samuel describes him. He commits suicide after mistakenly giving his sister Dessie the remedy that kills her. But little John Steinbeck has some fond memories of his uncle.
Olive Hamilton
Olive Hamilton is John Steinbeck's real-life mom. She is a stubborn woman whose understanding of the world is limited, but Steinbeck has a funny anecdote or two about her.