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Charles “Trout” Walker is from the wealthiest family in Green Lake, which leads him to be a spoiled, entitled person. We primarily see him act entitled to Kate Barlow’s affection, and he’s shocked when she rejects him. However, he also believes that he can behave however he wants without consequence. Therefore, he doesn’t see the connection between his disruptive behavior at night classes and Kate Barlow’s dislike of him. His entitlement ultimately sets in motion the cruelty of Camp Green Lake. Charles uses the law against interracial kissing as an excuse to gather people to kill Sam and destroy the schoolhouse. This act of vigilante justice causes Kate Barlow to become a bandit and for rain to stop falling in Green Lake. He later loses his fortune and can’t accept that. He believes Kate Barlow owes him her treasure. His desire for this treasure spurs his family’s hunt across Green Lake.
Just as Elya Yelnats sets up behavioral patterns for the Yelnats family, Charles passes his behaviors on to the Warden. Like Charles, the Warden takes advantage of the justice system for her own selfish ends, using troubled teens as unpaid labor in her search for treasure. She also believes she’s entitled to Kate Barlow’s treasure by virtue of being from the Walker family, echoing Charles’s entitlement to Kate Barlow’s body and later her money. Thus, Charles also helps demonstrate the way the past influences the present throughout the novel.
