Missoula

Study Guide

Characters

Beau Donaldson

Save

Characters Beau Donaldson

Beau Donaldson is a running back for the University of Montana Grizzlies when he rapes his long time childhood friend, Allison Huguet. Krakauer portrays him as a remorseless rapist and privileged young man. Beau gives what amounts to a partial confession to Allison and her mother when he goes to Allison’s mother’s house and admits to “taking advantage” of Allison. Allison and her mother insist that Beau seek sex offender and substance abuse treatment, and, though he promises them he will get help, Beau never does. About a year later, Beau is celebrating at a bar in downtown Missoula when Allison and a friend come in. Beau is cocky and self-assured. When Allison’s friend asks him to leave he mouths obscenities at Allison from across the bar. Even after Allison and Detective Baker tape record Beau confessing to his crime, Beau will not admit to psychologists that the sex he had with Allison was non-consensual. Allison is changed when Beau rapes her, but Beau is disturbingly unchanged by raping Allison. He is eventually sentenced to ten years in the Montana state prison.

Previous section Allison Huguet Next section Detective Guy Baker