Character Relationship Map: Big Bully

Characters

• David Leary (played by Rick Moranis) — protagonist

  David Leary is the protagonist, a divorced author who returns to Hastings to teach creative writing. After his son bullies Kirby, David discovers Kirby's father is Ross Bigger, son of his childhood bu...

• Alan (played by Harry Waters, Jr.) — minor
• Gerry (played by Stuart Pankin) — minor
• Young David (played by Justin Jon Ross) — minor
• Clark (played by Curtis Armstrong) — supporting

  Clark is a fellow teacher who becomes unsettled by David's paranoia and intimidation issues. He files complaints against David with Principal Kokelar, prompting the principal to warn David to improve...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• David Leary → Young David (Temporal Past Self) — Young David represents David's childhood identity and unresolved past.

  The plot follows David Leary in 1996 and then depicts him as a bullied child in Hastings in 1970.

Story Dynamics

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

• David Leary → Clark (Professional Conflict) — Their professional relationship deteriorates because Clark distrusts David's behavior.

  Clark becomes unsettled by David's paranoia and reports complaints about him to Principal Kokelar.

• David Leary → Gerry (Social Friend) — Gerry participates in David's group conversation and local support network.

  David meets with Gerry and Alan at a bar while discussing the history surrounding his former tormentor.

• David Leary → Alan (Social Friend) — Alan is part of David's local social circle during his return to Hastings.

  David meets with Alan and Gerry at a bar, where he learns more about the past connected to Hastings.

Story Analysis

David confronts the childhood fear that controls his adult life and moves toward reconciliation before leaving Hastings.

Plot Progression

1. The Wound of Childhood — Young David experiences bullying in Hastings and reports the theft of a Moon rock. The resulting arrest becomes a defining memory that shadows his later return.
2. Return to Hastings — David returns as a divorced author and accepts a creative-writing teaching position. Familiar places, an overdue book, and old social connections reactivate his past.
3. Old Fear Reawakens — David faces renewed intimidation and becomes increasingly paranoid. Clark's complaints and the principal's warning make David's professional position unstable.
4. The Waterfall Reckoning — A confrontation at the old seesaw exposes David's childhood confession. The pursuit ends at a waterfall, where David fears that his defensive strike has killed his enemy.
5. A Moving Reconciliation — A final fight gives way to an explanation of the Moon rock theft and a repaired relationship. David leaves Hastings, carrying a symbolic replacement from childhood.