# The Narrator — Red Harvest character guide > The Narrator in Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Unknown, I, me, my, myself, mine, your, you **First appearance:** 0001-red-harvest ## Snapshot A Continental Op who arrives in Personville to clean up a murder and finds a town where every favor hides a knife and every ally wants a cut. ## Who they are He is a San Francisco operative summoned to Personville by the industrialist Elihu Willsson after the murder of Willsson's reform-minded son, and he quickly discovers that the old man who hired him is the same man who armed the thugs running the city. Cool, watchful, and willing to lie with an honest face, he trades information and false loyalties with gangsters and police alike, nudging Personville's factions toward destroying one another. His refusal to flinch at the town's casual violence is what makes him dangerous to everyone who thinks they can use him. ## Relationships ### [Noonan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/characters/noonan) _rivalry_ Noonan, the corrupt police chief, and the Narrator are locked in a deadly game of cat and mouse, each trying to outmaneuver the other in the violent power struggle of Personville. ### [Dan Rolff](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/characters/dan_rolff) _psychological_ Dan Rolff, a morphine-addicted and disillusioned former doctor, serves as a reluctant and often resentful informant for the Narrator, bound by a mix of fear and grudging respect. ### [Reno Starkey](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/characters/reno_starkey) _rivalry_ Reno Starkey, a ruthless gangster, and the Narrator are professional adversaries who engage in a tense, violent competition for control of the city's underworld. ### [Charles Proctor Dawn](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/characters/charles_proctor_dawn) _professional_ Charles Proctor Dawn, a shady lawyer and fixer, interacts with the Narrator as a wary professional contact, providing information while protecting his own interests. ### [McGraw](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/characters/mcgraw) _professional_ McGraw, a newspaper editor, works with the Narrator as a source of information and a reluctant ally in the fight against corruption. ### [Pete the Finn](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/characters/pete_the_finn) _rivalry_ Pete the Finn, a powerful bootlegger and gang leader, is a direct enemy of the Narrator, representing one of the major criminal factions he seeks to destabilize. ### [Helen Albury](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/characters/helen_albury) _romantic_ Helen Albury, the daughter of a local power broker, shares a flirtatious and tense romantic undercurrent with the Narrator, though their relationship is complicated by her family's criminal ties. ### [Donald Willsson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/characters/donald_willsson) _professional_ Donald Willsson, the murdered reformist newspaper publisher, hired the Narrator, making their relationship that of a client and operative, cut short by his death. ### [Ike Bush](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/characters/ike_bush) _rivalry_ Ike Bush, a thuggish enforcer for the criminal underworld, is a violent antagonist who frequently clashes with the Narrator. ### [Peak Murry](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/characters/peak_murry) _rivalry_ Peak Murry, a gangster and associate of Reno Starkey, is a hostile figure who opposes the Narrator's efforts to clean up the city. ### [Young Albury](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/characters/young_albury) _social_ Young Albury, Helen's brother, is a minor acquaintance of the Narrator, providing occasional local color and background information. ### [Al Kennedy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/characters/al_kennedy) _professional_ Al Kennedy, a private detective and ally, works alongside the Narrator as a fellow operative in the dangerous environment of Personville. ## In the story ### [Red Harvest](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/chapters/red-harvest) The Continental Op who arrives in Personville and becomes embroiled in the town's corruption. ### [I: A Woman in Green and a Man in Gray](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/chapters/i-a-woman-in-green-and-a-man-in-gray) Arrives in Personville, meets Mrs. Willsson, learns of Donald Willsson's murder, and gathers information from Bill Quint. ### [II: The Czar of Poisonville](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/chapters/ii-the-czar-of-poisonville) Investigates Donald Willsson's murder, interviews Elihu Willsson and the secretary. ### [IV: Hurricane Street](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/chapters/iv-hurricane-street) The Continental Op; he questions Dinah about the murder and the certified check, and deduces the killer's identity. ### [V: Old Elihu Talks Sense](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/chapters/v-old-elihu-talks-sense) Arrives at Elihu Willsson's house after a late-night summons; negotiates the contract to clean up Personville. ### [VI: Whisper's Joint](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/chapters/vi-whisper-s-joint) Acts as a go-between for Noonan and Thaler, gains Thaler's trust, and escapes with him. ### [VII: That’s Why I Sewed You Up](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/chapters/vii-that-s-why-i-sewed-you-up) Manipulates young Albury into confessing, certifies the check, and declares his intent to use the money to clean up Poisonville. ### [VIII: A Tip on Kid Cooper](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/chapters/viii-a-tip-on-kid-cooper) Writes reports, survives an assassination attempt, and defiantly declares war on Poisonville. ### [IX: A Black Knife](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/chapters/ix-a-black-knife) Spreads the rumor about Ike Bush taking a dive, manipulates betting odds, and later warns Dinah Brand. ### [X: Crime Wanted—Male or Female](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/chapters/x-crime-wanted-male-or-female) Leaves building, joins Dinah and Thaler, discusses plans to clean up Poisonville, and knocks out Dan Rolff after being shot at. ### [XI: The Swell Spoon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/chapters/xi-the-swell-spoon) Listens to Dinah Brand's account of Tim Noonan's murder and later visits Myrtle Jennison in the hospital to obtain a signed statement. ### [XII: A New Deal](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/chapters/xii-a-new-deal) Hunts down MacSwain, brings him to Noonan, and secures a confession about Tim Noonan's dying words. ### [XIII: —$200.10—](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/chapters/xiii-200-10) The narrator is ambushed by Thaler, negotiates with Dinah, and ultimately captures Thaler after a violent struggle. ### [XIV: Max](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/chapters/xiv-max) Captures Whisper, interrogates MacSwain, and returns him to Noonan, feeling increasingly like a native of Poisonville. ### [XV: Cedar Hill Inn](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/chapters/xv-cedar-hill-inn) Directs the operation, joins Noonan's raid on Cedar Hill Inn. ### [XVI: Exit Jerry](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/chapters/xvi-exit-jerry) Investigates the bank robbery with Noonan, returns to his hotel, interacts with Dinah Brand, and considers the implications of recent events. ### [XVII: Reno](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/chapters/xvii-reno) Narrates the chapter; orchestrates the frame of Max Thaler, hides with Dinah, and helps Reno escape. ### [XVIII: Painter Street](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/chapters/xviii-painter-street) Returns to town, searches Dinah's place, sets up surveillance on Painter Street, receives a telegram from the Old Man, and meets with Noonan to discuss the killings. ### [XIX: The Peace Conference](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/chapters/xix-the-peace-conference) Orchestrates the peace conference, exposing Noonan's schemes and manipulating the factions against each other. ### [XX: Laudanum](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/chapters/xx-laudanum) Confesses to feeling 'blood-simple' and corrupted by Personville, admitting he now enjoys planning deaths. ### [XXI: The Seventeenth Murder](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/chapters/xxi-the-seventeenth-murder) Wakes from a dream to find himself holding the murder weapon over Dinah Brand's body; wipes the scene and seeks an alibi from Reno Starkey. ### [XXII: The Ice Pick](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/chapters/xxii-the-ice-pick) Questioned by McGraw about Dinah Brand's murder; meets with lawyer Charles Proctor Dawn; learns of Dan Rolff's escape and Pete the Finn's men becoming special police. ### [XXIII: Mr. Charles Proctor Dawn](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/chapters/xxiii-mr-charles-proctor-dawn) Discovers Dawn's body, takes evidence, and interrogates Helen Albury. ### [Wanted](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/chapters/xxiv-wanted) Wanted for murder, hiding out, and plotting with Reno. ### [XXV: Whiskeytown](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/chapters/xxv-whiskeytown) Carries the bomb-filled valise, participates in the attack, and escapes through alleys after the ambush. ### [XXVI: Blackmail](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/chapters/xxvi-blackmail) Confronts Elihu Willsson, blackmails him with love letters, refuses the chief of police job, and later theorizes about the murder of Dinah Brand. ### [XXVII: Warehouses](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/chapters/xxvii-warehouses) Leads the search for Whisper's warehouse, confronts a night watchman, and later flees to Ogden after the events. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/characters/the_narrator - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/characters