The Characters
Like the narrative course of the novel, which takes John Washington back to the place where his father worked through his life’s purpose and back through time in an examination of history and heritage, the method of characterization Bradley employs is also devised as part of a multiple perspective. John Washington is presented as the narrative consciousness of the novel, and all the other characters are essentially seen from his point of view—that is, from the outside. John, however, is extremely perceptive, and he has been educated as a historian who must exercise the discipline that insists on more than an emotional or instinctive response. Consequently, he is intelligently sympathetic and convincing in his accounts of the other characters and is a reliable narrator. When necessary, Bradley will also use an omniscient point of view, particularly when recounting John’s dialogue with Judith, a technique that indicates that she is an independent figure. This is appropriate, since she presents John with the challenge that is one of the propelling aspects of the narrative.
Bradley has made Moses Washington an exceptionally capable man, and it is John’s awed assessment of his father that ratifies readers’ reactions to Moses’ exploits. John’s historical foundation gives him a standard against which to measure Moses’ accomplishments. Along with C. K. Washington, Moses combines the mind of a precise thinker with the athletic ability of a decathlon champion—a formidable fusion of capabilities that are exhibited in the long narrative sections in which Moses and C. K. are shown in a kind of combat against various adversaries. These “stories” are told by John with a practiced authorial style, mingling observation, description, analysis, and some dialogue to reveal character.
The other characters are inevitably reduced in comparison with the men in the Washington family, but both Judith and John’s mother Yvette are convincing in the consistency of their actions. Bradley admires logical extrapolation, and once he has established the psychological foundation for the women’s characters, the motivations for their actions are clear. While John is coldly harsh in his initial responses to both women, Bradley has already established that he is somewhat blinded by anger, so that readers can see the qualities that John eventually comes to appreciate. This is part of a pattern in which John’s somewhat distant, inner-directed view is balanced by his sense of fairness, by his fascination with almost everything, and by his rather dry sense of humor. Thus John’s initial contempt for Judge Scott and his son Randall does not prevent him from seeing them eventually as human beings rather than as white stereotypes. In addition, the depth of Judith Powell’s character, while only suggested by her appearances within the boundaries of John Washington’s life, is indicative of a wider range of control, since she is not—unlike any of the other characters—a feature in the story John tells. Instead she is, like the novel’s readers, a listener and observer, although also a kind of participant.
The Characters
John Washington is drawn by David Bradley as a contemporary black man who has been assaulted by all the forces of a racist society at its most vicious and yet has managed to survive without being turned into a cipher or a demon. Bradley’s first-person narrative places the reader close to Washington’s heart and directly in his mind. Perhaps in an attempt to reject forever the slander that black men are intellectually inferior, Washington’s intellect is especially impressive, and he has taken advantage of his educational opportunities to develop an analytical power that can...
(This entire section contains 773 words.)
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penetrate the most complex conundrum or confidently confront any intellectual adversary. Because he fears that he will lose his mental discipline if he yields to his emotional impulses, he fails to understand the complete meaning of anything, although he has very ably covered this up, even to himself. At first, he seems distant, self-serving, and not very likable, but his sense of fairness, morality, and ultimate decency tend to compensate for his coldness. His intense interest in all of the things of the world and his dry sense of humor make him an interesting companion for a journey, and his tremendous desire to know and understand the circumstances of his life eventually overrides his limitations and carries the reader steadily closer to him (as Judith moves closer to him) as the narration progresses. By the time that John finally decides to sacrifice all his stratagems of defense and risk his soul to make it worthy, Bradley has carefully prepared the reader to share this experience with John and to rejoice at his success.
Still, the most interesting and bizarrely heroic character in the novel is John’s father, Moses Washington. “Mose,” in his son’s words, is an “ex-moonshiner and murderer who has taken up philosophy, eccentricity, church-cleaning, marriage and fatherhood as retirement avocations.” Bradley has created this character in a conscious effort to write into American literary history a black man who is unbreakable and in most endeavors unbeatable, who is a self-taught intellectual and a veritable poet of logic, who has the physical grace of an Olympic decathlon champion and a wicked gift for ghastly humor, which he directs at every form of villainy in American life. A victim of racism, he is not a racist himself, but he feels contempt for nearly everyone who is his inferior, regardless of race. He has a very stern sense of personal justice, which he delivers, in the absence of a social justice for most black people, with Old Testament severity. He is alive with passion but bereft of love, and although his exploits seem superhuman, it is Bradley’s achievement to have made them completely plausible. Moses dominates the novel and dominates his son until John finally unravels all the clues his father left—an educational legacy to make his son even stronger than he was, but in a new form for a future time. Moses’ suicide at the age of seventy is finally both a defeat and a symbol of the ultimate victory of a will that must control everything.
The other characters are dwarfed by comparison, but convincing. “Old” Jack is the last survivor of previous generations, the fabled storyteller of ancient cultures who is like the storehouse of collected wisdom of his tribe. “Uncle” Josh is a kind of natural man who would thrive in a fairer world but who is not cunning or clever enough for this one. John Washington’s mother is a woman who has recognized what she must do in order to accomplish her goals and has turned all her strength and intelligence to these ends. Part of Washington’s real education occurs as he learns that his contempt for her is misplaced and unearned, and that she has done admirably within the limits of the society to which she was tied. The mythic “C.K.” Washington, legendary leader of a band of liberated former slaves, is an example of what careful planning, calculated resistance, and an incredible sense of mission can accomplish. Judith Powell, John Washington’s best (possibly only) friend, is a straightforward woman whose complexity of character could easily justify a novel itself, but who functions here as a person of love, compassion, and common sense. She cares enough about Washington to stay with him through his mean times and believes enough in him to insist on accompanying him on his quest. His reluctance to accept her as a partner is overcome by her radiant spirit and her commitment to him (sometimes undeserved), and by his eventual realization that without her, he will forever be incomplete.
Characters Discussed
John Washington
John Washington, a history professor and scholar. A cynical young black man of about thirty, John returns to his hometown to comfort a dying friend, Jack Crawley, and ends up reevaluating his own life when he finally understands the circumstances surrounding the deaths of his father, Moses Washington, and his great-grandfather, C. K. Washington. the beginning of this insight occurs when, after Crawley’s funeral, John is presented with the folio bequeathed to him earlier, in his father’s will. the contents of the folio, along with other clues left by Moses, guide John through a historical puzzle and eventually help him find peace and meaning in his own life.
Moses Washington
Moses Washington, John’s father, a bootlegger with enough information to blackmail all the rich white townspeople, who spurn the impoverished black community banished to the Hill. A powerful man within the district, he is feared by both blacks and whites, even though he keeps to himself, spending most of his time tramping through the Pennsylvania hills and checking on the status of his numerous stills. His suicide, mistaken as a murder, is disguised as a hunting accident to prevent an investigation from accidentally uncovering the folio, believed to contain dangerous evidence incriminating the town officials. Moses, like his son, John, is preoccupied with history and struggles to learn the truth about his ancestors. He possesses his grandfather’s diary, but the book ends abruptly, and he becomes obsessed with learning what happened to C. K. Eventually, he learns the truth, and the reality brings about his suicide when John is nine years old.
Brobdingnag C. K. Washington
Brobdingnag C. K. Washington, John’s great-grandfather, a runaway slave. A self-educated man, he is literally branded C. K. by his master as a punishment. He uses his knowledge to forge himself a pass and manages to escape. In Pennsylvania, he falls in love with a free black woman, Harriette Brewer, who shares his dream of helping other slaves become free. On her first attempt, though, she is caught and sold into slavery. C. K. makes numerous trips to the South trying to find her and becomes infamous for the number of slaves he helps, but he is unable to locate her. Eventually, he marries another woman, who gives birth to Lamen, Moses’ father. C. K. is finally caught while helping twelve runaways. Rather than return to slavery, the thirteen people kill themselves, believing that they will reach eternal freedom through death. It is at C. K.’s grave that Moses kills himself.
Peter John (Old Jack) Crawley
Peter John (Old Jack) Crawley, “the old man with the stories.” Jack, one of Moses Washington’s only close friends, becomes a surrogate father to John after Moses’ death. He teaches John how to coexist with nature, inspires in him a predilection for hot toddies, and keeps alive memories of Moses for the boy. Because of personal experiences with the Ku Klux Klan, he also cultivates within John a deep suspicion of white people. That distrust causes the young academic to lead a lonely and cold life.
Judith Powell
Judith Powell, a psychiatrist. Lovely and graceful like a ballerina, she is emotional, persistent, and stubborn. Although she is John’s girlfriend, he has a difficult time trusting her because she is white. She follows him to his hometown and badgers him until he confides in her his struggle to understand C. K., Moses, and himself.
