Karakteranalyse af Walker og Mark Weston i 'Hostage'

Walker, our main character, works as a hostage negotiator.

He has had quite a few jobs during his career after coming home from having been deployed to South-East Asia. After coming home his first assignment was with vice, but he got fired after a complaint that he had mistreated a man during a bust. He then worked in narcotics.

Walker clearly suffers from some form of mental illness and/or PTSD. We know this because it is mentioned in the story (p. 157 ll. 23-25), that the narrator suffers from multiple mental disorders. We know that he was a sniper in Vietnam, and it is most likely an incident that has taken place during this deployment, that has caused his PTSD. Walker is likely so good at being a hostage negotiator because being manipulative comes easily to him.

Walker as a person is a very cynical man who doesn’t seem to care much for everyone else. He is also a very manipulative person.

"No," I said, my voice soft, starting the lies. 'I'm a psychologist. The police figured you'd rather talk to me. Is that okay?"

"Make them go away!"

"Okay, Mark. Take it easy, son. There's nothing to get upset about. You didn't do anything."