# Hank Banta — The Hoosier Schoolmaster character guide

> Hank Banta in The Hoosier Schoolmaster by Edward Eggleston.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Hank, Hank Banta, Henry Banta, Henry

**First appearance:** 0005-iii-mirandy-hank-and-shocky

## Snapshot

A grinning mischief-maker who draws ugly pictures on his slate and sets Betsey Short giggling, Hank Banta tests the new master's patience before he ever tests his learning.

## Who they are

Hank Banta is the schoolroom troublemaker whose sly sketches and whispered jokes keep the room on edge, and whose conveniently forgotten traps leave others to suffer the master's switch. Idle and easily bored, he dodges real work by pretending to wrestle with long division, sidling up to the desk only when he must. His small rebellions matter because they measure Ralph's grip on a school where the boys have already driven off two masters.

## Relationships

### [Ralph Hartsook](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_hoosier_schoolmaster_se/characters/ralph_hartsook)

_rivalry_

Hank Banta is a disruptive student who antagonizes Ralph, testing his patience and authority.

### [Ralph Hartsook](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_hoosier_schoolmaster_se/characters/ralph_hartsook)

_rivalry_

Hank Banta is a disruptive student who antagonizes Ralph, testing his patience and authority.

## In the story

### [III: Mirandy, Hank, and Shocky](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_hoosier_schoolmaster_se/chapters/iii-mirandy-hank-and-shocky)

The meanest boy in school, who plots to dunk Ralph in the pond under the schoolhouse but falls in himself.

### [A Struggle for the Mastery](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_hoosier_schoolmaster_se/chapters/xiii-a-struggle-for-the-mastery)

The ringleader of the rebellion, but cowardly and easily frightened by Ralph's tactics.

### [The Flight](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_hoosier_schoolmaster_se/chapters/xxviii-the-flight)

Accompanies Pete Jones in the search for Ralph.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_hoosier_schoolmaster_se/characters/hank_banta
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_hoosier_schoolmaster_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_hoosier_schoolmaster_se/characters