Jim Lefferts

Elmer Gantry

Jim is Elmer's cynical, intellectual college friend who constantly mocks and exposes Elmer's hypocrisy.

Elmer Gantry

Jim is Elmer's cynical, intellectual college friend who constantly mocks and exposes Elmer's hypocrisy.

Elmer Gantry

Jim is Elmer's cynical, intellectual college friend who constantly mocks and exposes Elmer's hypocrisy.

Elmer Gantry

Appears as a friend and foil to Elmer, representing a more skeptical and intellectual perspective.

Chapter I

Elmer's roommate and friend, who tries to keep Elmer out of trouble and scoffs at religious enthusiasm.

I

Elmer's roommate, a calm and steady presence who manages Elmer's drunken antics and tries to steer him away from trouble.

II

Elmer's friend who enjoys scholarship and drives Elmer to study, also a capable drinker and womanizer.

III

Elmer's only true friend; a slim, elegant, and intellectually independent young man who serves as a counterbalance to Elmer's brute force and is complicit in minor book-doctoring.

IV

The college freethinker; owns Ingersoll and Paine; questions biblical miracles with a reverent demeanor that confuses professors.

V

Jim is Elmer's companion, equally eager to visit Nellie. He suggests borrowing money and orchestrates the trip to Cato.

Chapter VI

Accompanies Elmer, tries to restrain him from the fight, and later urges him to escape Eddie's conversion attempt.

Chapter II

Jim fiercely tries to keep Elmer from succumbing to religious fervor, arguing against faith and using skeptical literature.

I

Elmer's friend who tries to keep him from succumbing to religious fervor, alarmed by the pressure from the devout and Elmer's own vulnerability.

II

Elmer's friend; his scorn is one of the few things Elmer fears.

III

Jim zealously tries to keep Elmer skeptical, reading from Ingersoll and Paine, and is supported by his father's visit.

Chapter III

Jim moves out of their shared room after Elmer's conversion, leaving a note expressing his disdain for Elmer's new path.

I

Elmer's roommate, who is ill with the grippe and remains cynical about Roberts' methods, calling him a 'holy strikebreaker' and a 'bunco-steerer.'

II

Jim is bedridden but warns Elmer to resist the revivalists' influence.

III

Referenced in Elmer's thoughts as a rationalizing influence; Elmer imagines Jim's skeptical reaction to his conversion.

IV

Scoffs at Elmer's conversion and challenges his sincerity, throwing an Ingersoll book at him.

V

Whispers to Elmer, asking him to credit Ingersoll and himself for the exhortation ideas.

VIII

Sarcastically dismisses Elmer's preaching, moves out the next morning, leaving a note.

Chapter IV

Jim encounters Elmer in distress, offers him whiskey, and advises him to return to the prayer meeting, showing a cynical but supportive role.

I

Jim is mentioned as someone Elmer now ignores, bowing ferociously on the street.

Chapter II

Jim provides Elmer with whisky and advice, encouraging him to return to the prayer meeting, and later witnesses Elmer's boastful return.

II

Mentioned as a contrast to Elmer's self-perceived kindness toward girls.

Chapter VI

Fictionalized in Elmer's sermon as 'Jim Leffingwell,' a repentant sinner whose daughter's death illustrates the cost of delayed repentance.

IV

Referenced in Elmer's sermon as the skeptical college friend he claims to have converted, though the story is likely embellished.

III

Mentioned as Elmer's former friend, whose absence leaves Elmer without a best man.

Chapter XXII

Mentioned in Elmer's reflection on his past with Sharon Falconer.

III

Mentioned as the college-mate Elmer claims to have saved from drink and atheism in his lecture anecdote.

Chapter XXX

Elmer's old friend, now a tired lawyer in Topeka, briefly reconnects with Elmer but does not follow up.

V

Appears tired and discouraged, a lawyer in Topeka who briefly reconnects with Elmer but does not pursue further contact.

XV

Elmer recalls Jim Lefferts' attempt to dissuade him from becoming a preacher.