Teddy McArdle is a protagonist whose wisdom is juxtaposed with his innocence, a contradiction that contributes to the ambiguity and tension in “Teddy.” His goals and views differ from those of a typical child or adult in Western culture. His disheveled appearance suggests self-neglect, consistent with his detachment from materialism and claim of being a reincarnated Indian man, possibly an ascetic. In seeking spiritual enlightenment, Teddy is unafraid of death. Throughout the story, he tries to voice the dangers of logic, but no one is receptive to his teachings—which he attributes to his current incarnation as an American man. This makes for a lonely experience, and he seemingly looks forward to ending his reincarnation with a predicted death.

Although Teddy is “thirteen pounds underweight for his age,” he is “whole and pure” (123). While he sometimes plays his role as child within the McArdles’ family dynamic, he often rejects his parents’ authority. He also uses advanced vocabulary for his age: “Each of his phrasings was rather like a little ancient island, inundated by a miniature sea of whiskey” (124). Likewise, when Teddy writes in his journal, “In no sense—no mechanical sense at any rate—[do] the words look like they [have] been written by a child” (130-31).