The Emperor Jones (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: Eugene O’Neill
- First Published: 1921
- Type of Work: Play
- Type of Plot: Expressionism
- Time of Work: Early twentieth century
- Setting: An island in the West Indies
- Genres: Drama, Melodrama, Expressionist literature, Symbolist literature
- Subjects: 1960’s, Mothers, Parents and children, Caribbean, Magic or magicians, Blacks, Race, Twentieth century, Religion, Emotions, Fear, Islands, Death or dying, Jungles or rain forests, Adventure, Rites or ceremonies, Intellect, Cannibalism, Tyrants or tyranny
- Locales: West Indies, Islands
Characters Discussed
Brutus Jones, emperor of an unnamed island in the West Indies. A large, powerful, and street-smart man, he was for ten years a Pullman porter in the United States. He killed his friend Jeff in a fight over a game of dice and knocked out a guard to escape from prison. He fled as a stowaway and went to the island, where he used his urban ways and vague hints about his violent past to establish himself as emperor of the island. Luck also played a part: When Lem hired a gunman to kill Jones early in his reign, the gun misfired. Jones has convinced the natives...
[The entire page is 1102 words long]
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