# Jim Lefferts — Elmer Gantry character guide > Jim Lefferts in Elmer Gantry by Sinclair Lewis. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** James Blaine Lefferts, Jimmy, Mr. Lefferts **First appearance:** 0003-chapter-i ## Snapshot Elmer's college roommate, a sharp-tongued quarterback and future journalist who loves the big galoot and sees straight through him. ## Who they are Jim drinks with Elmer, soothes him, and needles him, the one friend who can call him a hellcat to his face and still be forgiven. He is the skeptical eye in a book full of believers, the man who notices the gap between Elmer's sermons and Elmer's Saturdays. His running commentary gives the reader a co-conspirator inside the novel's moral fog. ## Relationships ### [Elmer Gantry](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/characters/elmer_gantry) _friendship_ Jim is Elmer's cynical, intellectual college friend who constantly mocks and exposes Elmer's hypocrisy. ### [Elmer Gantry](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/characters/elmer_gantry) _friendship_ Jim is Elmer's cynical, intellectual college friend who constantly mocks and exposes Elmer's hypocrisy. ### [Elmer Gantry](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/characters/elmer_gantry) _friendship_ Jim is Elmer's cynical, intellectual college friend who constantly mocks and exposes Elmer's hypocrisy. ## In the story ### [Elmer Gantry](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/chapters/elmer-gantry) Appears as a friend and foil to Elmer, representing a more skeptical and intellectual perspective. ### [Chapter I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/chapters/chapter-i) Elmer's roommate and friend, who tries to keep Elmer out of trouble and scoffs at religious enthusiasm. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/chapters/i) Elmer's roommate, a calm and steady presence who manages Elmer's drunken antics and tries to steer him away from trouble. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/chapters/ii) Elmer's friend who enjoys scholarship and drives Elmer to study, also a capable drinker and womanizer. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/chapters/iv) The college freethinker; owns Ingersoll and Paine; questions biblical miracles with a reverent demeanor that confuses professors. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/chapters/v) Jim is Elmer's companion, equally eager to visit Nellie. He suggests borrowing money and orchestrates the trip to Cato. ### [Chapter VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/chapters/vi) Accompanies Elmer, tries to restrain him from the fight, and later urges him to escape Eddie's conversion attempt. ### [Chapter II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/chapters/chapter-ii) Jim fiercely tries to keep Elmer from succumbing to religious fervor, arguing against faith and using skeptical literature. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/chapters/ii) Elmer's friend; his scorn is one of the few things Elmer fears. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/chapters/iii) Jim zealously tries to keep Elmer skeptical, reading from Ingersoll and Paine, and is supported by his father's visit. ### [Chapter III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/chapters/ii) Jim is bedridden but warns Elmer to resist the revivalists' influence. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/chapters/iii) Referenced in Elmer's thoughts as a rationalizing influence; Elmer imagines Jim's skeptical reaction to his conversion. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/chapters/iv) Scoffs at Elmer's conversion and challenges his sincerity, throwing an Ingersoll book at him. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/chapters/v) Whispers to Elmer, asking him to credit Ingersoll and himself for the exhortation ideas. ### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/chapters/viii) Sarcastically dismisses Elmer's preaching, moves out the next morning, leaving a note. ### [Chapter IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/chapters/i) Jim is mentioned as someone Elmer now ignores, bowing ferociously on the street. ### [Chapter II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/chapters/ii) Jim provides Elmer with whisky and advice, encouraging him to return to the prayer meeting, and later witnesses Elmer's boastful return. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/chapters/ii) Mentioned as a contrast to Elmer's self-perceived kindness toward girls. ### [Chapter VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/chapters/vi) Fictionalized in Elmer's sermon as 'Jim Leffingwell,' a repentant sinner whose daughter's death illustrates the cost of delayed repentance. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/chapters/iv) Referenced in Elmer's sermon as the skeptical college friend he claims to have converted, though the story is likely embellished. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/chapters/iii) Mentioned as Elmer's former friend, whose absence leaves Elmer without a best man. ### [Chapter XXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/chapters/chapter-xxii) Mentioned in Elmer's reflection on his past with Sharon Falconer. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/chapters/iii) Mentioned as the college-mate Elmer claims to have saved from drink and atheism in his lecture anecdote. ### [Chapter XXX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/chapters/chapter-xxx) Elmer's old friend, now a tired lawyer in Topeka, briefly reconnects with Elmer but does not follow up. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/chapters/v) Appears tired and discouraged, a lawyer in Topeka who briefly reconnects with Elmer but does not pursue further contact. ### [XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/chapters/xv) Elmer recalls Jim Lefferts' attempt to dissuade him from becoming a preacher. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/characters/jim_lefferts - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/characters