Roles of Kirby Family Members in The Happy Journey

There are five members in Ma Kirby's family: her husband Elmer, her son Arthur, her daughter Caroline and her married daughter Beulah. In the beginning of the play we see Ma Kirby making a preparation for going to Beulah. She is a conservative lady. She wants her son to wear a hat because without a hat one looks like a hoodlum. She is a good neighbor. When she requests Mrs. Hobmeyer to give her cat a saucer of milk twice a day, Mrs. Hobmeyer readily accepts it.

Ma Kirby wants her children to observe good manners. So she asks Caroline to greet Mrs. Hobmeyer and Arthur to take off his hat when he sees the funeral procession. She does not want her daughter to use any kind of make-up. She is very much friendly with friends and neighbors. She is talkative. She tells everyone about her family problems. She even talks to a serviceman at the garage. Seeing lean and thin, she wishes to feed him for a few days. Her love for humanity is wide. She wants the happiness of her children. So she does not like Arthur to become a news agent, however he may earn. She wishes her daughter to be a good girl and her son to be honest-in-word-and-deed. She can be strict sometimes. She is a good cook and for twenty-five years her cooking has not been complained about. She is very much satisfied with her family members. So the place where they live is the best place for her. She likes being loved by her children. In short, she is a good housewife and loving mother.

Arthur is a thirteen year old boy and Caroline is a fifteen year old girl. In the beginning of the play we see Arthur playing marbles and Caroline talking to her friends. Both of them make their mother unhappy. Arthur does not wear his hat and Caroline makes her cheeks red, which she does not like at all. She thinks Arthur is a 'hoodlum' and Caroline is 'the plagued child'. Both the children make the conversation on the way. Otherwise the journey would have been boring. They don't like their mother talking loudly and people looking at her. They love their mother and sometime make fun of her. When Arthur laughs at her God, she is very angry and wants to leave Arthur. Seeing a different advertisement they show their reactions differently. When Arthur weeps Caroline also weeps. They inform many things to their mother and want to know a lot from her. Caroline is elder, so she understands many more things than her brother. She reads Beulah's letter to find out the way to her house. She is more interested in worldly things than her brother. Arthur wants to work harder to earn more money. Although they are minor characters, they make us laugh and cry.

Ma Kirby wants her children to observe good manners. So she asks Caroline to greet Mrs. Hobmeyer and Arthur to take off his hat when he sees the funeral procession. She does not want her daughter to use any kind of make-up. She is very much friendly with friends and neighbors. She is talkative. She tells everyone about her family problems. She even talks to a serviceman at the garage. Seeing lean and thin, she wishes to feed him for a few days. Her love for humanity is wide. She wants the happiness of her children. So she does not like Arthur to become a news agent, however he may earn. She wishes her daughter to be a good girl and her son to be honest-in-word-and-deed. She can be strict sometimes. She is a good cook and for twenty-five years her cooking has not been complained about. She is very much satisfied with her family members. So the place where they live is the best place for her. She likes being loved by her children. In short, she is a good housewife and loving mother.

Arthur is a thirteen year old boy and Caroline is a fifteen year old girl. In the beginning of the play we see Arthur playing marbles and Caroline talking to her friends. Both of them make their mother unhappy. Arthur does not wear his hat and Caroline makes her cheeks red, which she does not like at all. She thinks Arthur is a 'hoodlum' and Caroline is 'the plagued child'. Both the children make the conversation on the way. Otherwise the journey would have been boring. They don't like their mother talking loudly and people looking at her. They love their mother and sometime make fun of her. When Arthur laughs at her God, she is very angry and wants to leave Arthur. Seeing a different advertisement they show their reactions differently. When Arthur weeps Caroline also weeps. They inform many things to their mother and want to know a lot from her. Caroline is elder, so she understands many more things than her brother. She reads Beulah's letter to find out the way to her house. She is more interested in worldly things than her brother. Arthur wants to work harder to earn more money. Although they are minor characters, they make us laugh and cry.