ANDREA SEABROOK, host:
And now for some more memorable characters. Your homework last week was to tell us about the fictional characters you just can't forget. We thought you'd send us stories that were inspiring, touching, sweet. And we got this e-mail from Shelly Porterfield(ph) in Kansas City, Missouri.
Ms. SHELLY PORTERFIELD (Resident, Kansas City, Missouri): And as soon as Andrea said tell us about your most memorable characters, Guy Woodhouse popped into my head. And it's because, I guess, because it will be really horrible to be married to him.
SEABROOK: That's Guy Woodhouse, the scheming husband in "Rosemary's Baby." He allows his wife to be impregnated by the devil in return for a successful acting career.
Ms. PORTERFIELD: I just would like to smack him myself. So maybe that's - he just kind of gets me riled up.
SEABROOK: At the other end of the spectrum, Devin Tutac(ph) of Arlington, Virginia wrote, although I never carried around a notebook to write skating observations about my friends, neighbors and strangers, I was - maybe still am - "Harriet the Spy."
Ms. DEVIN TUTAC (Resident, Arlington, Virginia): I tend to watch the people around me, and I may not necessarily interact with them in a traditional sense, but I do listen to what they are saying. I observe what they're doing, and sometimes hypothesize about what they may actually be thinking or doing.
SEABROOK: Tutac says she's a little more logical and less brave than the intrepid Harriet, but…
Ms. TUTAC: I really do want to go back and read about Harriet again, because I wonder if that might just be something that pushes me into thinking about getting that courage and losing a little bit of logic. And maybe that's what writing is - maybe writing is just being more creative and a little illogical all at once.
SEABROOK: Here's another good one. Listener Kate Ahern(ph) sent in her memories of Bone, the little girl at the heart of Dorothy Allison's novel "Bastard Out of Carolina."
Bone was the survivor I wanted to be but I didn't think it was possible, Ahern writes. Although she was physically, sexually and emotionally abused, she was powerful. She had a sense of agency. I kept "Bastard Out of Carolina" in my school bag every day to be close to Bone, to be able to run my fingers along the spine of the novel when I felt threatened or powerless and draw strength.
And speaking of characters, one of my all-time favorite is the original misfit - Holden Caufield of J. D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye."
Tomorrow, in the program, as part of NPR's series In Character, I'll talk with an author and a TV producer about the depths and appeal of Holden Caufield.
Now, for this week's homework assignment. We want you tell us your nickname. How did you get it? Is it embarrassing? Who gave it to you? Send your nickname stories to homework@npr.org. Make sure you include your real name and phone number or call our homework hotline at 202-408-5183.