CHARACTER
Flippedby Wendelin Van Draanen

Chet Duncan

Chet Duncan

Quick Facts

Chet Duncan is Bryce Loski’s maternal grandfather who moves in with the Loski family after the death of his wife, Renée. A grieving observer who becomes the story’s moral compass, he quietly reshapes how people around him see one another.

Who They Are

Chet is a quietly forceful presence who sees past appearances and insists on decency. In a household inclined to judge, he pays attention. He recognizes Juli’s character long before Bryce does and exposes the hollowness in Rick’s worldview. Even his physical presence—“a big man with a meaty nose,” salt‑and‑pepper hair slicked back, and “big meaty hands”—underscores the paradox he embodies: imposing yet gentle, worn house slippers masking a readiness to trade them for work boots when it matters.

He becomes the bridge between two adolescents who misunderstand each other, nudging Bryce toward integrity and toward a truer vision of Juli. In doing so, Chet embodies the novel’s insistence that what’s real about people rarely sits on the surface.

Personality & Traits

Chet’s strength is inward: he watches, listens, and only then speaks. His wisdom feels earned, sharpened by grief and by love. Rather than lecturing, he models how to see—how to weigh action over image, and personhood over convenience.

  • Wise and perceptive: He identifies Juli’s rare quality immediately, telling Bryce the girl has “an iron backbone.” He extends the idea of the landscape principle from The Whole is Greater than the Sum of its Parts to people, warning that with some, “the whole is less than the sum of the parts.”
  • Observant: From his window, he studies the neighborhood’s rhythms and the Bakers’ quiet dignity. What looks like idleness to Bryce is actually Chet assembling a truer picture than anyone else in the house possesses.
  • Moral and principled: He refuses to let Bryce hide behind excuses—especially about the eggs—urging him to choose what’s right because “it hurts everyone less in the long run.”
  • Empathetic and kind: Where Rick sneers at the Bakers’ yard, Chet crosses the street to help, listens to Juli as an equal, and recognizes in her a kindred fire.
  • Loyal and loving: Devotion to his late wife shapes his lens; seeing her “iridescent” spirit reflected in Juli both comforts him and guides his choices.
  • Physical presence with purpose: His tight wedding ring, house slippers, and sports coat signal age and grief; his switch to work boots and flannel while helping Juli marks his shift from passive mourner to active mentor.

Character Journey

Chet arrives as a silent, grieving widower whose primary activity is sitting by the window. A newspaper piece about Juli and the sycamore tree jolts him into engagement: he starts conversations, asks hard questions, and—crucially—walks across the street to help. That single act transforms him from background figure to moral agent. He challenges Bryce’s cowardice over the eggs, confronts Rick’s cruelty at dinner by telling the truth about the Bakers’ circumstances, and, on a nighttime walk, gives Bryce the language (“iridescent”) to finally see Juli. Through Chet’s steady pressure and example, Bryce’s adolescence bends toward empathy and courage.

Key Relationships

  • Julianna “Juli” Baker: Chet sees in Juli the same luminous spirit he loved in Renée and treats her not as a child project but as a peer in integrity. Their intergenerational friendship is built on doing rather than posturing—yard work, conversation, mutual respect—and it crystallizes the novel’s challenge to judge people by their actions, not their aesthetics.

  • Bryce Loski: Chet is the architect of Bryce’s moral awakening. He calls out Bryce’s evasions, especially about the eggs, then hands him a vocabulary for value (“iridescent”) that reframes Juli in Bryce’s mind. With Chet’s guidance, Bryce moves from self-protection to responsibility and genuine admiration.

  • Rick Loski: Chet’s restraint meets Rick’s smugness. Without grandstanding, he punctures Rick’s prejudice at dinner by explaining the financial and emotional reality behind the Bakers’ yard—care for Mr. Baker’s intellectually disabled brother. That revelation destabilizes Rick’s authority and recalibrates Bryce’s understanding of his family’s values.

Defining Moments

Chet’s impact unfolds through quiet but decisive actions that reshape how others see and behave.

  • The Sycamore Tree Article: He shows Bryce the piece about Juli’s protest and says, “A girl like that doesn’t live next door to everyone, you know,” seeding Bryce’s doubt in his own superficial judgments.
  • Crossing the Street to Help: Swapping slippers for work boots, Chet joins Juli in her yard. This wordless endorsement models the difference between criticizing and contributing—and makes Bryce confront his passivity.
  • The Eggs Reckoning: Chet directly challenges Bryce’s secret disposal of Juli’s eggs, insisting that character is formed in such moments. He positions moral pain now as mercy later.
  • The Dinner Confrontation: He counteracts Rick’s derision by revealing the Bakers’ sacrifices, exposing the gap between appearance and reality and reorienting Bryce’s loyalties.
  • The “Iridescent” Walk: After dinner, Chet reframes human value for Bryce, elevating Juli beyond “gloss” to “iridescent.” The talk gives Bryce a standard to seek and a person to see anew.

Essential Quotes

(See more in Quotes.)

“Because the girl’s got an iron backbone. Why don’t you invite her over sometime?” Chet identifies Juli’s core strength before anyone else and pushes Bryce toward engagement rather than avoidance. The invitation is both social and ethical: recognize value, then act on it.

“One’s character is set at an early age, son. The choices you make now will affect you for the rest of your life... the next time you’re faced with a choice, do the right thing. It hurts everyone less in the long run.” This is Chet’s moral thesis. He ties small, private choices (like the eggs) to lifelong character, reframing integrity as preventative care for everyone involved.

“It’s that way with people, too... only with people it’s sometimes that the whole is less than the sum of the parts.” Chet warns Bryce against being dazzled by scattered “good parts”—looks, charm, status—when the integrated whole can be disappointing. It’s a direct critique of judging by surface traits.

“Some of us get dipped in flat, some in satin, some in gloss... But every once in a while you find someone who’s iridescent, and when you do, nothing will ever compare.” This metaphor becomes the lens through which Bryce finally sees Juli. By elevating “iridescent” above ordinary finishes, Chet sets a lifelong standard for what—and who—is worth pursuing.