Character Relationship Map: Deliverance

Characters

• Ed Gentry (played by Jon Voight) — protagonist

  Ed Gentry is one of four Atlanta businessmen who undertakes the canoe trip and serves as the story's central viewpoint. More experienced than the novices but less domineering than Lewis, he helps conc...

• Lewis Medlock (played by Burt Reynolds) — protagonist

  Lewis Medlock is the group's confident leader, an avid outdoorsman and survivalist whose expertise guides the expedition. After killing the rapist with a bow, he insists that the body be buried and th...

• Bobby Trippe (played by Ned Beatty) — supporting

  Bobby Trippe is one of the inexperienced Atlanta businessmen and is especially rude toward the local people before the trip turns violent. A mountain man forces him to undress and rapes him, making hi...

• Drew Ballinger (played by Ronny Cox) — supporting

  Drew Ballinger is a novice canoeist and one of the four friends. At the gas station, he creates a friendly musical exchange with a banjo-playing boy, showing a more open attitude toward the locals tha...

• Doctor (played by John Fowler) — minor

  The Doctor treats Lewis after the injured group reaches Aintry. Lewis is brought to the hospital with a badly broken thigh, and the Doctor considers amputating his leg because of the severity of the i...

• Martha Gentry (played by Belinda Beatty) — minor

  Martha Gentry is Ed's wife, whom he reunites with after returning from the river expedition. Her appearance comes after Ed has helped conceal the deaths and survived the journey, placing his domestic...

• Lonnie - The Banjo Boy (played by Billy Redden) — supporting

  Lonnie is the young banjo-playing boy encountered by the businessmen at the local gas station. He engages in a mutually enjoyable musical duel with Drew, while some locals dance to the performance, bu...

• Deputy Queen (played by Macon McCalman) — minor

  Deputy Queen is identified by Sheriff Bullard as the officer who suspects Ed and Bobby. His suspicion arises because his brother-in-law went hunting several days earlier and has not returned, connecti...

• Ambulance Driver (played by Johnny Popwell) — minor
• Sheriff Bullard (played by James Dickey) — minor

  Sheriff Bullard questions Ed and Bobby after they reach Aintry and hear their carefully constructed account of Drew's death. He does not believe them, but lacks evidence to arrest them for the conceal...

• Mountain Man (played by Bill McKinney) — supporting

  Mountain Man is one of the two hostile men who confront Ed and Bobby in the woods. He carries a shotgun, helps restrain Ed, and flees after Ed takes the weapon while Lewis kills the other attacker. Th...

• Toothless Man (played by Herbert 'Cowboy' Coward) — supporting

  Toothless Man is the unarmed mountain man who participates in the confrontation with Ed and Bobby and rapes Bobby while demanding that he squeal like a pig. Lewis kills him with an arrow, and Ed later...

Canonical Relationships

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

• Ed Gentry → Ambulance Driver (Professional Rescue Transport) — The ambulance transport carries the critically injured Lewis from the river ordeal to medical care, with Ed among the surviving companions who reach town.

  When the group reaches Aintry, Lewis is taken by ambulance to the hospital.

• Lewis Medlock → Doctor (Professional Doctor And Patient) — The Doctor treats Lewis's serious injury, emphasizing the physical cost of the river journey.

  Lewis is taken to the hospital with a badly broken thigh, and the Doctor considers amputating his leg.

• Ed Gentry → Doctor (Professional Patient's Companion) — Ed is present during Lewis's treatment and hears the medical decision being considered for his injured friend.

  Ed visits Lewis in the hospital while the Doctor is considering amputating Lewis's broken leg.

• Ed Gentry → Martha Gentry (Family Husband And Wife) — Ed returns to his family, but his nightmare about a hand rising from the lake shows that the ordeal continues to haunt him.

  After returning from the expedition, Ed reunites with his wife, Martha.

Story Dynamics

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

• Drew Ballinger → Lonnie - The Banjo Boy (Social Musical Encounter) — Their brief musical exchange creates a moment of connection across the divide between the visitors and locals, though the interaction ends without a handshake.

  At the gas station, Drew plays a guitar in a musical duel with Lonnie, who plays the banjo. The exchange is mutually enjoyable, but Lonnie does not ac...

• Deputy Queen → Bobby Trippe (Conflict Suspect And Investigator) — Bobby is included in Queen's suspicions alongside Ed, but no arrest follows for lack of evidence.

  Sheriff Bullard identifies Deputy Queen as suspicious of Ed and Bobby because Queen's brother-in-law has gone missing after a hunting trip.

• Deputy Queen → Ed Gentry (Conflict Suspect And Investigator) — Queen's suspicion places Ed under scrutiny, although the sheriff says there is not enough evidence to arrest him.

  Sheriff Bullard says Deputy Queen is suspicious of Ed and Bobby because Queen's brother-in-law went hunting and has not returned.

• Bobby Trippe → Sheriff Bullard (Conflict Suspect And Investigator) — Bobby participates in deceiving Bullard and reassures Ed that he has not betrayed their shared account.

  Bobby and Ed tell Bullard their cover story about Drew's death. Ed worries that Bobby may have told Bullard the truth, but Bobby convinces him otherwi...

• Ed Gentry → Sheriff Bullard (Conflict Suspect And Investigator) — Ed tries to avoid prosecution by lying to Bullard, who remains skeptical but ultimately orders the men to leave rather than arresting them.

  Ed and Bobby give Sheriff Bullard a false account of Drew's death. Bullard says he does not believe them but has no evidence to arrest them.

• Lewis Medlock → Mountain Man (Conflict Adversaries) — The surviving attacker remains a perceived threat to Lewis and the group after the confrontation in the woods.

  Mountain Man participates in the attack on Ed and Bobby, and Lewis kills the other attacker while Mountain Man flees. Lewis later believes Mountain Ma...

• Ed Gentry → Toothless Man (Conflict Killer And Victim) — Ed's later killing of the man he recognizes as Toothless Man completes their violent connection, following the man's assault on Bobby.

  Ed examines the dead man's body and confirms that he is the toothless man from the earlier attack, now wearing dentures.

• Lewis Medlock → Toothless Man (Conflict Killer And Victim) — Lewis kills Toothless Man to stop the attack, and the group subsequently conceals the body.

  Lewis sneaks up and kills Toothless Man with a bow and arrow after Toothless Man assaults Bobby.

• Mountain Man → Ed Gentry (Conflict Armed Captor And Captive) — Mountain Man threatens Ed during the assault; their encounter later leads Ed to fear he is being stalked and to shoot a man he believes is the attacker.

  Mountain Man holds Ed at gunpoint and helps restrain him during the attack on Bobby. Ed later takes the shotgun as Mountain Man flees.

• Toothless Man → Bobby Trippe (Conflict Rapist And Victim) — Toothless Man's assault on Bobby triggers the group's violent response and the chain of concealment that follows.

  Toothless Man forces Bobby to undress and rapes him, demanding that he 'squeal like a pig.'

• Mountain Man → Toothless Man (Alliance Partners In Assault) — They act together in the woods, with Mountain Man controlling Ed at gunpoint while Toothless Man attacks Bobby.

  The two mountain men confront Ed and Bobby together. Mountain Man carries a shotgun and helps restrain Ed while Toothless Man assaults Bobby.

Story Analysis

A river expedition becomes a struggle for survival, and the survivors' attempts to conceal their actions leave Ed traumatized.

Plot Progression

1. Outsiders on the River — Four Atlanta businessmen set out to canoe the Cahulawassee before it is dammed. Their encounters with hostile locals include Drew's musical exchange with Lonnie, after which the canoes launch and beco...
2. Violence in the Woods — Mountain Man and Toothless Man confront Ed and Bobby, and Toothless Man assaults Bobby. Lewis kills the attacker, but the group argues over what to do and ultimately chooses to conceal the death and c...
3. The Gorge and the Bodies — The rapids wreck the canoes, injure Lewis, and leave Drew missing. Ed climbs the gorge, kills a rifleman he believes to be the pursuer, and discovers the man's identity; Ed and Bobby then hide both bo...
4. Aintry and the Buried Secret — The survivors reach Aintry and give Sheriff Bullard a false account while Lewis receives hospital care. Bullard doubts them but sends them away, and they vow to keep their story secret; Ed's return ho...