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Character analysis

Dunlap Dewberry

in Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo

Dunlap Dewberry is a minor but significant supporting character in Kate DiCamillo's Because of Winn-Dixie. He and his younger brother Stevie live near Gloria Dump's yard and start off as antagonists to Opal, teasing her for befriending the "witch" Gloria Dump and calling her names like "ugly old Opie." Their taunts reflect the broader theme of fear and misunderstanding that permeates the novel — the same fear that keeps the neighborhood kids away from Gloria's yard.

Dunlap's journey, though short, reflects the novel's central message about the importance of community and open-heartedness. When Opal invites the neighborhood children, including Dunlap and Stevie, to Gloria's party toward the end of the story, Dunlap decides to join. His presence marks a subtle yet significant change: the boy who once threw insults is now sitting next to Opal, sharing candy and music beneath the trees. He even shows a shy interest in Amanda Wilkinson at the party, a small detail that adds depth to his character beyond that of a bully.

Dunlap's main traits are conformity and peer-driven bravado — he seldom acts without Stevie by his side, indicating that his cruelty stems more from social pressure than genuine malice. This makes his eventual participation in the party feel well-earned rather than contrived. He serves as a reminder that loneliness and misunderstanding, rather than true meanness, often fuel unkind behavior in children, and that the sense of belonging — Opal's greatest desire — can even be offered to those who once withheld it.

About this character

Form
Novel
Author
Kate DiCamillo
First published
2000

The person01–03

01·Who they are

Who is Dunlap Dewberry?

Dunlap Dewberry is a neighborhood boy who, alongside his younger brother Stevie, serves as the novel's closest representation of a local bully. He lives near Gloria Dump's overgrown yard and is introduced as one of the children who continues the superstition that Gloria is a witch. Physically and socially, Dunlap embodies the recognizable middle-school territory of performed toughness: he is not cruel in a dramatic or violent manner, but his taunts inflict the particular sting of public ridicule. He calls Opal "ugly old Opie," a nickname designed less to cause deep wounds than to mark her as an outsider in front of an audience. DiCamillo keeps him deliberately small in scale — he is not a villain, barely even an obstacle — yet his presence sharpens the novel's portrayal of how fear circulates through a community and settles into habit.

02·Arc & motivation

What is Dunlap Dewberry's arc and motivation?

Dunlap's arc is brief but structurally significant. At the start, his mockery of Opal is rooted in conformity rather than malice: he echoes what the neighborhood already believes about Gloria Dump, and he does this with Stevie by his side, suggesting he needs social reinforcement to maintain his bravado. He reflects the novel's broader issue — individuals (and especially children) defaulting to suspicion and group-think rather than firsthand experience.

His motivation is peer approval, not cruelty. This distinction is important because it makes his transformation believable. When Opal extends a genuine invitation to Gloria's party, Dunlap does not undergo a dramatic change of heart; he simply attends. That quiet decision — choosing inclusion over the safety of mockery — constitutes the entirety of his arc, and DiCamillo earns it by keeping it understated. He was never truly tough; he just needed someone to stop treating him as though he were.

03·Key moments

What are Dunlap Dewberry's key moments?

  • The "ugly old Opie" taunts: Early in the novel, Dunlap and Stevie jeer at Opal from a distance, establishing them as gatekeepers of neighborhood opinion. The taunts always occur together, emphasizing that Dunlap's cruelty is social theatre.
  • Ridiculing Gloria Dump: Dunlap participates in spreading or sustaining the "witch" rumor about Gloria, which is significant because it links his behavior directly to the novel's central theme of prejudice born from ignorance and inherited fear.
  • Accepting the party invitation: When Opal invites the neighborhood children to Gloria's garden party near the end of the novel, Dunlap chooses to come. He sits with the group, shares in the candy and music, and is absorbed — however tentatively — into the community Opal has quietly built all summer.
  • Shy interest in Amanda: At the party, Dunlap shows a quiet, bashful attention toward Amanda Wilkinson. This small, humanizing detail completely reframes him: the boy who performed toughness with Stevie is capable of genuine, awkward tenderness on his own.

The cast04–05

04·Relationships

What are Dunlap Dewberry's most important relationships?

With Stevie: Stevie functions almost as Dunlap's echo chamber. The two are rarely separated, and Stevie typically repeats or amplifies whatever Dunlap initiates, confirming Dunlap as the de facto ringleader. Their pairing means Dunlap has never had to develop an independent social identity — making Opal's one-on-one invitation to the party quietly radical.

With Opal: The relationship evolves from low-grade antagonism to cautious proximity. Opal never confronts Dunlap directly or demands an apology; she simply extends the same open-handedness she offers everyone else. That generosity — modeled on what Gloria and the Dewberry family’s own loneliness might share — reaches him where argument never could.

With Gloria Dump: Dunlap's fear of Gloria crystallizes the novel's argument that rumor solidifies into prejudice. His attendance at her party directly rebuts everything he previously "knew" about her, occurring without a single explanatory conversation — experience simply overrides inherited fear.

With Amanda Wilkinson: Amanda, who carries her own sadness over her brother Carson's drowning, becomes an unlikely object of Dunlap's shy interest. This pairing subtly suggests that both characters exist beneath their social surfaces: the sad, prim girl and the pack-running boy discovering a moment of unguarded feeling at the same table.

05·Connected characters

How is Dunlap Dewberry connected to the other characters?

Stevie Dewberry

Dunlap's younger brother and constant companion. The two almost always appear together, and much of Dunlap's teasing of Opal is performed as a duo. Stevie often echoes Dunlap's taunts, suggesting Dunlap is the ringleader of their small-scale bullying.

Opal Buloni

Dunlap begins as an antagonist to Opal, mocking her friendship with Gloria Dump and calling her 'ugly old Opie.' His arc resolves when Opal extends an invitation to Gloria's party, and he accepts — a quiet reconciliation that validates Opal's belief in community.

Gloria Dump

Dunlap initially fears and ridicules Gloria, calling her a witch in line with neighborhood superstition. His attendance at her party represents an overcoming of that unfounded fear, echoing the novel's theme that people are more than the rumors surrounding them.

Amanda Wilkinson

At Gloria's party, Dunlap shows a shy, budding interest in Amanda, a small humanizing detail that softens his earlier bully persona and suggests he is capable of genuine, tender feeling.

Winn-Dixie

Winn-Dixie's indirect influence — through Opal's growing confidence and her decision to throw the party — is what ultimately brings Dunlap into the community circle, making the dog a catalyst for even this minor character's small transformation.

Study06–07

06·Questions

Questions readers ask about Dunlap Dewberry

Who is Dunlap Dewberry in Because of Winn-Dixie?

Dunlap Dewberry is a neighborhood boy who, along with his younger brother Stevie, serves as a minor antagonist to Opal, mocking her friendship with Gloria Dump and calling her "ugly old Opie." He lives near Gloria's yard and represents the peer-driven fear and superstition that keep the neighborhood children away from her. DiCamillo uses him to illustrate how conformity, rather than true meanness, often motivates unkind behavior in children.

What does Dunlap Dewberry call Opal, and why?

Dunlap calls Opal "ugly old Opie," a taunt intended to label her as an outsider in front of others rather than to cause deep personal harm. The nickname serves as a social performance — he requires Stevie's presence to maintain it — rooted in peer approval and the neighborhood's shared suspicion of Gloria Dump. His motivation is conformity, not genuine cruelty.

What is Dunlap Dewberry's relationship with his brother Stevie?

Stevie is Dunlap's younger brother and constant companion, serving as his echo chamber: Stevie generally repeats or amplifies whatever Dunlap initiates. The two are seldom apart, which means Dunlap has not developed an independent social identity. This dynamic makes Opal's one-on-one party invitation quietly significant — it reaches Dunlap outside the security of his brother's reinforcement.

How does Dunlap Dewberry's attitude toward Gloria Dump change by the end of the novel?

Dunlap starts the novel by spreading or maintaining the rumor that Gloria Dump is a witch, linking his behavior to the theme of prejudice stemming from inherited fear. By the end, he accepts Opal's invitation and attends Gloria's garden party, sitting among the group and enjoying the candy and music — a quiet, experience-based rebuttal of everything he previously "knew" about her, achieved without a single explanatory conversation.

Why does Dunlap Dewberry decide to come to Gloria's party?

Dunlap chooses to come to the party because Opal offers him the same open-handed invitation extended to everyone else, treating him not as a bully to be punished but as a neighbor to be included. His decision is understated — lacking a dramatic change of heart — which emphasizes the point: he simply needed someone to stop treating him as though his cruelty defined his entire identity. DiCamillo frames belonging as a choice available even to those who once withheld it.

What does Dunlap Dewberry's interest in Amanda Wilkinson reveal about him?

At Gloria's party, Dunlap exhibits shy, bashful attention toward Amanda Wilkinson, a small detail that recontextualizes him completely. The boy who acted tough with Stevie shows he is capable of quiet, awkward tenderness when separated from that social performance. DiCamillo uses this humanizing moment to suggest that Dunlap, like Amanda, has feelings beneath his social surface — both characters harboring emotions their public personas do not reveal.

Is Dunlap Dewberry a villain in Because of Winn-Dixie?

Dunlap is not a villain — DiCamillo intentionally avoids that label to implicate community fear rather than individual malice. His cruelty is minor and peer-driven: he echoes neighborhood superstition about Gloria and teases Opal for social reinforcement, always accompanied by Stevie. This portrayal makes him an example of conformist unkindness rather than genuine menace, which is why his quiet acceptance of Opal's invitation feels earned.

What role does Winn-Dixie play in Dunlap Dewberry's small transformation?

Winn-Dixie serves as an indirect catalyst for Dunlap's change. The dog's influence operates through Opal: he builds her confidence over the summer, inspiring her to host the garden party that unites the neighborhood. It is that party — made possible by the community Winn-Dixie helped Opal create — that draws Dunlap into the circle he had previously mocked from outside.

07·Essay angles

Use this in your essay

Tool · Essay angles

  • Dunlap as a study in peer-driven cruelty

    Argue that DiCamillo uses Dunlap to distinguish between genuine malice and conformist unkindness and consider what this distinction suggests about how communities perpetuate harm.

  • The party as resolution for minor characters

    Explore how Gloria's garden party functions as a structural device that resolves not only Opal's arc but also Dunlap’s, and what this reveals about DiCamillo's vision of community as an active, deliberate choice.

  • Rumour and inherited fear

    Using Dunlap's attitude toward Gloria as primary evidence, build a thesis about how *Because of Winn-Dixie* frames prejudice as learned, transmissible behavior — and identifies connection as its only cure.

  • The bully who isn't

    Compare Dunlap to other fictional child antagonists and argue that DiCamillo deliberately withholds the "bully" label to implicate the community, rather than the individual, in Opal's isolation.

  • Transformation without confrontation

    DiCamillo never stages a direct reconciliation scene between Opal and Dunlap. Argue whether this silence makes his change more or less convincing and what it suggests about how forgiveness and belonging actually operate in the novel.

Because of Winn-Dixie

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