Character Relationship Map: Monkey Warfare

Characters

• Dan (played by Don McKellar) — protagonist

  Dan is Linda’s longtime partner and housemate, with whom he marks fifteen years of living together amid old political disagreements and growing domestic strain. He worries that their activities could...

• Linda (played by Tracy Wright) — supporting

  Linda is Dan’s longtime partner and housemate, sharing his precarious home and their history of radical politics. She volunteers for a political organization but grows disillusioned with its fund-rais...

• Susan (played by Nadia Litz) — supporting

  Susan becomes increasingly close to Dan and Linda, spending time with them and visiting Linda’s room, where she learns about Linda’s toys and vintage photographs. She is involved in selling marijuana,...

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Dan → Susan (Social Uneasy Housemates) — Dan is wary of Susan's activity and its possible risks, while her jokes aggravate his frustration about their precarious housing situation.

  Dan learns Susan is involved in selling marijuana and worries that she knows where they live; Susan also jokes about the housing crisis, deepening the...

• Linda → Susan (Social Growing Friendship) — Susan's curiosity draws her closer to Linda, who shares details about her objects and their social meaning.

  Susan visits Linda's room, learns about her collection of toys and vintage photographs, and the two continue spending time together, including a trip...

• Dan → Linda (Social Long-Term Cohabitants) — Their long shared life is shaped by old political disagreements, guardedness, and mounting anxiety about losing their home.

  They mark fifteen years of living together with an uneasy dinner and discuss the strain of sharing a home.

Story Analysis

Dan and Linda's precarious shared life is unsettled by financial strain, a threatened home, and Susan's increasingly provocative response to neighborhood change.

Plot Progression

1. A Strained Shared Life — Dan and Linda mark fifteen years together while exposing the political disagreements and everyday strain in their shared home. They try to raise money by selling possessions, while Linda grows disench...
2. Susan Draws Closer — Susan learns about Linda's collections and Linda's thoughts about what objects reveal about society. Dan becomes concerned when he discovers Susan sells marijuana and may know where they live.
3. The Threat to Home — The landlord arrives to inspect the house and explains that he intends to sell it. Dan and Linda face the prospect of losing their home as neighborhood prices rise, and Dan's anger grows.
4. An Unresolved Proposal — At a café, Dan, Linda, and Susan discuss the housing crisis without finding a clear solution. Susan suggests firebombing a house to discourage buyers, but the excerpt ends before anyone acts.