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Turner is another student at Nickel Academy, and his worldview is distinctly different from Elwood’s. Elwood, who has been to Nickel Academy before, is an individualist. Although he takes Elwood under his wing, he believes that the only way to get through one’s time at Nickel is to keep to oneself and not worry about anyone else. He disagrees with Elwood’s optimism and thinks that people will always be cruel and racist no matter what. Although Turner presents himself as if he is unfeeling, his attitude is more of a defense mechanism than anything else.
By the end of the novel, Turner shows that he is open to considering Elwood’s worldview when he decides to help Elwood escape from solitary confinement. Previously, he said that if he escaped he would never take anyone with him, but he changes his mind and demonstrates that he does care what happens to other people. However, seeing his best friend get killed fundamentally destroys him; he appears to revert back to his original stance, assuming Elwood’s name and keeping his trauma to himself for many years. It is not until the secret graveyard is discussed in the media that Turner decides to actively process his trauma and share his story for the benefit of others.
