Character Analysis
What can we say about Robert? Well, he's quiet. So quiet, in fact, that when he, Josiah, Rocky, Tayo, Auntie, and Grandma were all sharing one big house, he sort of seemed to disappear. Now that Rocky and Josiah aren't around anymore, Tayo makes an effort to get to know Auntie's quiet husband and finds out he's a pretty cool dude. Robert's greatest superpower is the "deafness" he has cultivated "for as many years as he ha[s] been married to Auntie" (V.99). Most of the time his strategy for dealing with his wife and mother-in-law's endless nagging to keep his head down and stay quiet. But Robert still has a sense of humor. Every once in a while he gets in a good dig at their hypocrisy and, winking, runs out the door. He seems to opt for the "husbands should be seen and not heard" sort of lifestyle.