Post by rainier on Jun 6, 2008 15:30:57 GMT -5
Full Name: Caspar Schuyler
Newsie name: The Professor
Name origin: He's extremely bright, and has an answer for everything (whether or not the answer is right is a different story.) The nickname was given with a half-serious, half-sarcastic intent.
Age: 16
Gender: Male
Birthplace: Amsterdam
Currently Living: New York City
History: Caspar was born the youngest of five children of a poor Dutch family. His father, Ernst, was a carpenter who could hardly support his family on his meager wages. His mother Agnes was a bitter woman, an aristocrat by blood who had married Ernst for love (against her family's will) and found herself destitute because of it. Agnes was an explosive woman with a sharp tongue and hot temper; Ernst was mild-mannered, intelligent and soft-spoken. Their personalities clashed, until Agnes picked up and left one day, leaving Ernst alone to raise five young children. Caspar was three.
As a child, Caspar exhibited an intelligent spark that was suppressed by his family's poverty. Between supporting his family, Ernst diligently put money away until five years later, when he finally saved enough to bring his children to America (Caspar was eight). Upon arriving in New York City, they rented a small tenement, cramped with six people living there, and Ernst found suitable work with a carpentry business. His children went to school for six years. Caspar found that although his English was rough, he loved books and reading, and poured over everything even if he couldn't understand it. After six years, tragedy struck: Ernst contracted tuberculosis and died. The five siblings were unsure of what to do with themselves next.
They were torn until a few weeks later, when it was decided they were all old enough to look after themselves and to go their separate ways. The two eldest, Viona and Siemen, decided to get train tickets and see where the tracks would lead them. Helena decided to see if she could somehow get back to Amsterdam, and wandered away from the city on her own. Jozef joined the crew of a merchant sailor, and has been on the sea and around the world ever since. Caspar was the only one who wanted to stay in New York, still enamored with the promise of a better life. The siblings parted in tearful good-byes.
Caspar struggled. His English was still imperfect, he had no home and no way of making money. It wasn't until he had been alone and starving, surviving on scraps and what he could steal, for several months until he first entertained the thought of becoming a newsboy. He tried it, and found that he could just read enough English to sell the papers and earn a few pennies for food. Caspar dove into his new life, and because of his intelligence (and occasionally his naivety) his fellow newsies began calling him Professor.
Still today, Caspar tries to read everything he can get his hands on. After the eight years of being in America, he speaks English well, though with an accent and slightly incorrectly. One could say he is his father by nature and his mother by habit: he is kind and mild-mannered, but with an explosive side. Charming and pleasant, Caspar nonetheless has a harsh temper and often holds grudges. He is often clumsy, and sometimes stutters when he tries to speak English too rapidly.
Hair Color: Blond
Hair Style: Short, curled.
Eye Color: Blue
Skin Color: Pale
Height: 5' 5"
Weight: 130 lbs.
Clothing Style: Caspar's clothes are threadbare and ragged, but they're all he has. He wears trousers, shoes with a hole in the bottom of one, long johns, a too-big buttoned shirt with a too-small vest.
Items owned: Caspar's only possession, and his most treasured, is a small wooden "cookie" his father made. It looks like a wooden poker chip, made of smooth wood, and carved with the Dutch phrase KENNIS IS MACHT.
Troubles: Caspar sometimes becomes dejected when he mulls over the fact his mother, father and siblings are all gone from him. He worries that he will never see his brothers and sisters again, although he most likely won't. His appetite for books can't be fulfilled very often, and so he reads zealously when he can, often staying up late into the night or getting a late start on his selling just to read a book.
Fears: Caspar has an aversion to fire and gets sick at the sight of blood. He is afraid of being alone and is often anxious about earning enough money to live off of. He also fears his life will not improve from the state it's been at.
Siblings: Viona (21), Siemen (19) , Helena (18), Jozef (17)
Parents: Ernst and Agnes
Newsie name: The Professor
Name origin: He's extremely bright, and has an answer for everything (whether or not the answer is right is a different story.) The nickname was given with a half-serious, half-sarcastic intent.
Age: 16
Gender: Male
Birthplace: Amsterdam
Currently Living: New York City
History: Caspar was born the youngest of five children of a poor Dutch family. His father, Ernst, was a carpenter who could hardly support his family on his meager wages. His mother Agnes was a bitter woman, an aristocrat by blood who had married Ernst for love (against her family's will) and found herself destitute because of it. Agnes was an explosive woman with a sharp tongue and hot temper; Ernst was mild-mannered, intelligent and soft-spoken. Their personalities clashed, until Agnes picked up and left one day, leaving Ernst alone to raise five young children. Caspar was three.
As a child, Caspar exhibited an intelligent spark that was suppressed by his family's poverty. Between supporting his family, Ernst diligently put money away until five years later, when he finally saved enough to bring his children to America (Caspar was eight). Upon arriving in New York City, they rented a small tenement, cramped with six people living there, and Ernst found suitable work with a carpentry business. His children went to school for six years. Caspar found that although his English was rough, he loved books and reading, and poured over everything even if he couldn't understand it. After six years, tragedy struck: Ernst contracted tuberculosis and died. The five siblings were unsure of what to do with themselves next.
They were torn until a few weeks later, when it was decided they were all old enough to look after themselves and to go their separate ways. The two eldest, Viona and Siemen, decided to get train tickets and see where the tracks would lead them. Helena decided to see if she could somehow get back to Amsterdam, and wandered away from the city on her own. Jozef joined the crew of a merchant sailor, and has been on the sea and around the world ever since. Caspar was the only one who wanted to stay in New York, still enamored with the promise of a better life. The siblings parted in tearful good-byes.
Caspar struggled. His English was still imperfect, he had no home and no way of making money. It wasn't until he had been alone and starving, surviving on scraps and what he could steal, for several months until he first entertained the thought of becoming a newsboy. He tried it, and found that he could just read enough English to sell the papers and earn a few pennies for food. Caspar dove into his new life, and because of his intelligence (and occasionally his naivety) his fellow newsies began calling him Professor.
Still today, Caspar tries to read everything he can get his hands on. After the eight years of being in America, he speaks English well, though with an accent and slightly incorrectly. One could say he is his father by nature and his mother by habit: he is kind and mild-mannered, but with an explosive side. Charming and pleasant, Caspar nonetheless has a harsh temper and often holds grudges. He is often clumsy, and sometimes stutters when he tries to speak English too rapidly.
Hair Color: Blond
Hair Style: Short, curled.
Eye Color: Blue
Skin Color: Pale
Height: 5' 5"
Weight: 130 lbs.
Clothing Style: Caspar's clothes are threadbare and ragged, but they're all he has. He wears trousers, shoes with a hole in the bottom of one, long johns, a too-big buttoned shirt with a too-small vest.
Items owned: Caspar's only possession, and his most treasured, is a small wooden "cookie" his father made. It looks like a wooden poker chip, made of smooth wood, and carved with the Dutch phrase KENNIS IS MACHT.
Troubles: Caspar sometimes becomes dejected when he mulls over the fact his mother, father and siblings are all gone from him. He worries that he will never see his brothers and sisters again, although he most likely won't. His appetite for books can't be fulfilled very often, and so he reads zealously when he can, often staying up late into the night or getting a late start on his selling just to read a book.
Fears: Caspar has an aversion to fire and gets sick at the sight of blood. He is afraid of being alone and is often anxious about earning enough money to live off of. He also fears his life will not improve from the state it's been at.
Siblings: Viona (21), Siemen (19) , Helena (18), Jozef (17)
Parents: Ernst and Agnes