Dave Boyle

Dave Boyle

1
    Mystic River
Photo Credit: Everett Collection

Character Analysis

(Avoiding Spoilers)

Grew Up... different than most kids. In 1975, when he was playing hockey with his friends Jimmy and Sean, Dave was tricked and kidnapped by two child molesters. They held him in captivity in the woods and raped him for four days. Dave escaped, but he never truly returned to society.

Living… a relatively normal life in Boston. Dave lives with a caring wife, and he passes through the crowds unnoticed and unheard. He has become a soft-spoken man with strong principles.

Profession… a blue-collar worker. Dave does all sorts of manual labor to support his family. He never needed any kind of college education, and doesn’t feel the need to do anything more than a simple job to pay for a simple life.

Interests… playing baseball with his son and defending children in need. Dave has a big passion for protecting kids from potential sexual abuse, so that they don’t suffer the same fate as him.

Relationship Status… married. Dave’s wife Celeste is loving and protective of him, but one night he comes home after getting himself into some trouble and Celeste becomes frightened and less trusting of Dave.

Challenge… remaining innocent in the eyes of the law. One night he comes home with bloody hands, telling his wife that he was mugged. As he explains it, “I bashed his head on the parking lot.” The same night, a nineteen-year-old girl was murdered, and he quickly becomes a prime suspect to the lead detective, his old friend Sean.

Personality… tortured, quiet, and moral. Dave seems to have internalized his childhood sexual abuse. He has a lot of anger and a lot of sadness within him, even with his loving family and respectable job. Though he may not pursue justice according to the rules of the law, he gives child molesters what they deserve.

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