Guthrie is a high school history teacher whose life is in the process of falling apart. As his wife sinks into an all-consuming depression, he does not know how to talk to his two boys, and his class is disrupted by an arrogant student whose failure is set to cause issues. Despite this, Guthrie finds redemption through the course of the novel. He begins to date Maggie; he experiences difficult emotional moments which bring him closer to his children; and he learns to put aside the thoughts of his career and understand the importance of happiness over everything else. In the final chapter, he admits that he hasn’t “made up my mind” (254) as to what he’ll do if he loses his job, but he knows that “I’ll be all right” (254). His transformation from an anxious, isolated man into a happy, accepting person is one of the central narratives in the novel.

Guthrie is the first person introduced to the narrative. As the sun rises over Holt, he is already awake. He stands in his kitchen, smoking cigarettes and pondering the day ahead. He speaks in short, sharp bursts—simple, declarative sentences which tell his boys what to do to prepare themselves for school.