# David Hardy — Winesburg, Ohio character guide

> David Hardy in Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** David, Young David Hardy, young David

**First appearance:** 0011-terror

## Snapshot

A tall boy of fifteen whose single adventure shatters the shell of his quiet life and sends him out of Winesburg forever.

## Who they are

David Hardy is the grandson of Jesse Bentley, raised in the shadow of his grandfather's religious fervor and the family's tangled history. Like his mother Louise before him, he carries a restless impulse that cannot be contained by the narrow circumstances of farm life. His break from Winesburg marks one of the book's most decisive departures, showing how the town's pressures can either crush a spirit or propel it into the wider world.

## Relationships

### [Jesse Bentley](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/winesburg_ohio_se/characters/jesse_bentley)

_family_

David is the grandson of the domineering and religiously fanatical Jesse Bentley, who terrifies him.

### [Jesse Bentley](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/winesburg_ohio_se/characters/jesse_bentley)

_family_

David is the grandson of the domineering and religiously fanatical Jesse Bentley, who terrifies him.

## In the story

### [Godliness](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/winesburg_ohio_se/chapters/godliness)

The grandson of Jesse Bentley, who as a boy experiences a terrifying night lost in the darkness and later moves to the Bentley farm at age twelve.

### [Surrender](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/winesburg_ohio_se/chapters/surrender)

Louise's son, born after her marriage; she is ambivalent toward him, sometimes tender and sometimes rejecting.

### [Terror](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/winesburg_ohio_se/chapters/terror)

A fifteen-year-old boy who, after a year of prosperity and boyish pursuits, is taken by his grandfather for a sacrificial ritual. Terrified, he flees after striking Jesse with a stone, believing he has killed him, and decides to leave Winesburg forever.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/winesburg_ohio_se/characters/david_hardy
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/winesburg_ohio_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/winesburg_ohio_se/characters