Walking Across Egypt

– Character Analasys Of Mattie Rigsbee Essay, Research Paper

Walking Across Egypt

Mattie Rigsbee, from Walking Across Egypt by Clyde

Edgerton, is an extremely unique person. She is very bona

fide, a true Christian, but still likes to gossip every once in a

while. Her uniqueness shows in many ways: she is the best

cook in Listre, North Carolina, she has the compulsion to help

others that have less than she, and she is seventy-eight

years old and is just now starting to “run down.”

She is a very compassionate woman, she cares for

others. She is always pestering her children about getting

married and having kids, or she is always trying to feed

people like Lamar and Wesley. Her cooking is the best

around, and somebody is at her house eating at any of the

three meals per day she cooks. While caring for everybody,

she still likes to gossip with her friends. Like when she fell

through the chair, she just had to tell all her friends about

her experience.

Even though Mattie is seventy-eight, and running down,

she sets a standard of responsibility for people of any age.

Her love for her children is shown throughout the novel.

When she cooks for her children or pesters them about

getting married so she can have some grandchildren proves

that she cares about their well-being very much. The love

she radiates is extended to more than her children, like at the

end of the novel when she finally decides to take Wesley on

as a foster child so he can have a nice home and so he can

go to church every Sunday.

Through the whole book, Mattie has proven beyond a

shadow-of-a-doubt that she is one of the most wholesome,

good, and lovable characters in books today. Her overall

uniqueness is a special thing that not too many people can or

will ever hope to have. As she and Wesley grow older, she

should realize what a special thing she provides to the friends

and family that she spends her time with.