Zeke (Later Ben) Character Analysis in Now Is Not the Time to Panic

Overview of Zeke (Later Ben) in Now Is Not the Time to Panic

Zeke—who, as an adult, goes by Ben—is the new boy in Coalfield who becomes Frankie's artistic partner and first love during the summer of 1996. He arrives from Memphis under difficult circumstances: his father's affairs were exposed, and Zeke attacked his father before his mother relocated them to her grandmother's house in Coalfield. Over the course of that summer, Zeke and Frankie create the poster that becomes the center of the Coalfield Panic—a piece of street art whose cryptic phrase and haunting imagery of hands hovering over children capture the town's imagination and fear. Twenty-one years later, Frankie finds Zeke living in Memphis under the name Ben, working as a comic-book inker, and the two must reckon with the secret they share.

Zeke's role in the novel is twofold. First, he is the catalyst for the summer of artistic creation that defines Frankie's adolescence. It is Zeke who proposes they spend the summer making art together, and it is his drawing of the hands that becomes the poster's most iconic image. Second, he is the person who shares the secret with Frankie—the only other person who knows the poster's true origin. When Mazzy Brower's article threatens to expose Frankie, Zeke's adult self becomes the person Frankie must visit to decide how much of the story to tell.

Plot Role

Zeke's plot role is inseparable from the poster. He meets Frankie at the public pool during the greased watermelon contest, where she helps him win by recruiting her triplet brothers for twenty dollars. Two days later, he rides his bike to her house, and they begin a friendship built on shared loneliness and creative ambition. Zeke tells Frankie he wants to be an artist—specifically, he wants to make something that everyone in the world will see and remember but not fully understand. He proposes they spend the summer making art together, and the poster emerges from that collaboration.

As the poster spreads and the town reacts with fear and violence, Zeke's anxiety grows. He worries about being arrested, about a juvenile record affecting his art school prospects, and about people misunderstanding the poster as satanic or threatening. He continues to participate, but the fear is always present. When Frankie finds him as an adult, he asks her to keep his involvement secret, and he teaches her to draw the poster's image so she can pass it off as her own work.

Motivations and Traits Shown Through Actions

Zeke's primary motivation is the desire to create something meaningful. When he tells Frankie he wants to be an artist, he describes wanting to make something that everyone will see and remember but not fully understand. This ambition drives the summer's project and explains why he is initially so invested in the poster.

However, Zeke is also motivated by fear. His backstory—attacking his father, being restrained by employees, being described as speaking in tongues—reveals a boy who struggles with intense emotions and destructive impulses. When the poster begins to attract attention, Zeke's anxiety becomes visible: he folds and refolds the poster, worries about fingerprints, and expresses fear of being arrested. He tells Frankie, “I don't want to get arrested for a fucking poster,” a moment that reveals the gap between his artistic ambitions and his tolerance for risk.

Zeke's wealth is another notable trait. Frankie observes that he is the kind of rich she could tolerate—someone who doesn't seem to know what his money can do for him. He pays for their food without hesitation, and his mother produces money whenever he asks. This privilege shapes his perspective: he worries about a juvenile record affecting his art school prospects, a concern that Frankie, with her more precarious circumstances, does not share.

Chronological Arc

Zeke's arc spans three distinct periods.

The Summer of 1996: Zeke arrives in Coalfield as a newcomer, stunned to find himself in a small town. He meets Frankie at the public pool, and they begin a friendship built on shared loneliness and creative ambition. Over the summer, they create the poster together, and Zeke's drawing of the hands becomes its defining image. As the poster spreads and the town reacts with fear and violence, Zeke grows increasingly anxious, though he continues to participate.

The Break: The evidence indicates that Zeke hurt Frankie years ago—she recalls her arm being snapped nearly in half and her mouth bleeding when she sees him again. The exact circumstances are not fully detailed in the provided evidence, but the implication is that Zeke's destructive tendencies, hinted at in his backstory, manifested in violence toward Frankie, ending their relationship and the collaboration.

Twenty-One Years Later: Frankie finds Zeke living in his childhood home in Memphis. He now goes by Ben, has bipolar disorder, and works as a comic-book inker—a modest fulfillment of his artistic ambitions. He apologizes for hurting her. When Frankie explains that a reporter has learned she made the poster, Ben asks her to keep his involvement secret. He teaches her to draw the poster's image so she can pass it off as her own work, and he draws her an original picture of a cottage surrounded by flames. They say the poster's phrase together before parting.

Relationships

With Frankie: Zeke's relationship with Frankie is the novel's emotional core. They bond over shared loneliness—both have fathers who betrayed their families—and over their creative ambitions. Frankie describes the hour they spent exchanging their creative works (her novel, his drawings) as the happiest she has maybe ever been in her entire life. Their collaboration on the poster creates a bond that Frankie describes as almost mystical: they were bound together; they had made something. The relationship ends badly, with Zeke hurting Frankie, but the adult reunion suggests a complicated affection that survives the rupture.

With His Parents: Zeke's relationship with his father is defined by betrayal and violence. He attacked his father after learning about his affairs and was restrained by employees. His mother, a former violin prodigy who attended Juilliard, relocated them to Coalfield. As an adult, Zeke lives with both parents, who are still married—a detail that surprises Frankie. His father has had a stroke and uses a cane.

Key Decisions and Consequences

1. Proposing the summer art project: Zeke's decision to suggest they make art together sets the novel's central plot in motion. Without this decision, the poster would not exist.

2. Continuing to put up posters despite the backlash: Though Zeke expresses fear and anxiety, he continues to participate in posting the poster. This decision has consequences—the town's panic escalates, and Lyle dies falling from the water tower while putting up posters.

3. Asking Frankie to keep his involvement secret: As an adult, Ben asks Frankie to claim she made the poster alone. This decision shapes the story Frankie tells Mazzy Brower and preserves Ben's privacy.

4. Teaching Frankie to draw the poster's image: This practical act allows Frankie to credibly claim sole authorship, but it also means the poster's creation becomes something Frankie can reproduce—a final gift from Zeke that lets her own the work.

Theme and Symbol Connections

Zeke is central to several of the novel's themes:

• Collaborative Creation as Connection: The poster is literally a collaboration—Frankie's words, Zeke's hands, their blood mixed into the ink. Zeke's role in this collaboration shows how creative work can bind two people together.

• The Burden of Secrecy: Zeke's request that Frankie keep his involvement secret—and Frankie's agreement to carry that burden alone—connects directly to this theme. The secret becomes something Frankie must manage for the rest of her life.

• Authorship and Anonymity: Zeke's desire to create something anonymous that people would remember but not understand is fulfilled in an unexpected way. The poster becomes famous, but its creators remain unknown. Zeke's later request for continued anonymity shows how the desire for recognition can give way to the desire for privacy.

• The Persistence of Memory: The poster's phrase persists in Frankie's life—she whispers it to Junie as a lullaby. Zeke's role in creating that phrase means he is present in Frankie's memory even when he is absent from her life.

• Unintended Consequences of Creative Expression: Zeke's anxiety about the poster's reception—his fear that people misunderstand it as devil worship—shows how creative expression can spiral beyond the creator's control.

For more on these ideas, see the pages on unintended consequences of creative expression, the burden of secrecy, authorship and anonymity, the persistence of memory, and collaborative creation as connection.

Questions and Answers

1. Why does Zeke propose making art with Frankie?

Zeke proposes the summer art project because he wants to make something that everyone in the world will see and remember but not fully understand. He recognizes in Frankie a kindred spirit—someone who is also alone and creative—and he believes that making art together is a better use of the summer than doing nothing. He tells Frankie, “What else were you gonna do?” when she questions the idea.

2. How does Zeke react when the poster attracts attention?

Zeke becomes increasingly anxious. He worries about being arrested, about a juvenile record affecting his art school prospects, and about people misunderstanding the poster as satanic or threatening. He folds and refolds the poster, checks for police, and expresses fear that the situation is spiraling out of control. However, he continues to participate, and at one point he puts up a poster himself when Frankie is watching.

3. Why does Zeke ask Frankie to keep his involvement secret?

As an adult, Ben has built a life as a comic-book inker in Memphis. He has bipolar disorder and lives with his parents. The poster's notoriety—and the possibility of being exposed as its co-creator—threatens the stability he has achieved. He asks Frankie to claim she made the poster alone, a request that protects his privacy and allows him to remain anonymous.

4. What does Zeke's adult life reveal about his character?

Zeke's adult life shows a man who has partially fulfilled his artistic ambitions (working as a comic-book inker) but who has also retreated from the world. He lives with his parents, goes by a different name, and has bipolar disorder. His willingness to teach Frankie to draw the poster's image suggests he still cares about their shared creation, but his request for secrecy shows he wants to leave the past behind.

5. How does Zeke's relationship with Frankie change over time?

The relationship evolves from artistic partnership and first love to rupture (when Zeke hurts Frankie) to a distant adult reunion. In the reunion, they are strangers who share a profound secret. Zeke's apology and his decision to teach Frankie to draw the poster suggest a desire for reconciliation, but the relationship remains defined by what they made together rather than by what they are to each other now.

For a deeper look at how the story resolves, see the ending explained page, or explore common questions and answers about the novel.