38 pages • 1 hour read
A Snake Falls to Earth
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Character Analysis
Oli
Oli is the protagonist of A Snake Falls to Earth and a cottonmouth animal person from the Reflecting World. Oli initially struggles with coming of age, cast out of his mother’s home into a harsh world; he has no goal in mind other than finding a home and wanders aimlessly. Oli is often indecisive, and he is afraid of most things—qualities his “inner bad-mouther” taunts him for (23). Oli matures over the course of the novel, and by its end can act with confidence and bravery, even throwing himself into danger to protect his friends.
The path to anywhere-you-please is a symbol of Oli’s wandering without aim and purpose. By random chance, Oli follows the path to a place he can call home and people to care for as his Found Family. Without Ami, Oli would have no reason to set off on his adventure or develop the courage it requires. Without Risk and Reign, Oli would have no way of reaching Earth. Without Brightest and Mockingbird, Oli would have no hope of saving Ami. Oli grows into adulthood through his found family and finds purpose in life.
Nina Arroyo
Nina Arroyo is the deuteragonist (secondary main character) of A Snake Falls to Earth. Her last name refers to a kind of dry creek that periodically floods, reflecting the importance of water symbolism in the novel. Nina is a Lipan Apache girl who descends from a spirit from the Reflecting World. Though Nina is far enough removed from her spirit ancestor that she does not have any magical powers, her connection to the Reflecting World brings her into contact with Oli and his friends.
The chapters following Nina primarily concern her mission to decipher the historia Rosita tells her in Chapter 1 but are interspersed with scenes of her homelife and growing up. Nina resents her mother because she is always away for work and misses Nina’s birthday or plays. Nina starts off shy, unsure of herself, and afraid of making herself known to the public; she keeps her hobby of recording videos entirely to herself. By the end, she begins sharing her tales of her homeland with the world under her “Child of Refuge” account—an act that reflects The Importance of Stories. Nina’s connection to the Reflecting World and her interactions with the animal people make her into a more confident person.
Nina is also vital to the animal people, who are clueless about how human society works. Though her original plan to save Ami fails, it recognizes the importance of money—a concept that doesn’t seem exist in the Reflecting World.
Risk and Reign
Risk and Reign, technically two separate characters, are coyote twin sisters who act as a single unit; for example, Reign cannot fight the tornado alone and keeps looking for her sister, despite knowing Risk has gone home. The two unofficially adopt Oli as part of their pack, helping to build a permanent home for Oli at the end of the novel.
The two coyote sisters are fearless, and their bravery serves as an example to Oli. When Ami falls unconscious, Oli is encouraged to take a riskier but shorter path to the healer’s house because Risk and Reign take that same unmarked path without any fear.
Brightest
Brightest is a cooper’s hawk who meets Oli through their mutual friendship with Ami. Brightest is also the reason Mockingbird meets Oli. Brightest uses their ability to fly to deliver messages for the group and acts as a sort of guide for Oli in difficult times.
Brightest dislikes their false form because they have wings for ears, which causes them discomfort. They are generally very clumsy in their false form and struggle with clothing due to always being in their true form in the Reflecting World. Brightest’s issues with their false form allegorize the gender dysphoria many transgender and nonbinary people experience.
Mockingbird
Mockingbird is an elusive character who isn’t given a proper name like the other animal people. She is a chaotic person, constantly pranking the other animal people and antagonizing them. Secretly, however, she cares greatly for them. Without Mockingbird, Nina and the animal people wouldn’t get the money to fund the Dallas toad sanctuary.
Mockingbird philosophizes often on the nature of existence and individuality. Her disguises throw the latter problem into sharp relief: She tells Nina that she feels like people see her disguises as a ruse, when in fact the disguises are simply who she is (257). Mockingbird never finds answers to her philosophical questions but manages to find a way to express her friendship by helping Oli and the others in a way only she can.
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