Antagonist

Character Role Analysis

Roth Edmonds/Exploitation

Several characters could be seen as antagonist to Isaac in the novel. Shmoop elects Roth Edmonds as the most likely candidate. He shows no respect for Isaac and his opinions. He's an all-purpose jerk who puts obstacles in the path of a number of characters in the novel and obstructs any progress toward racial harmony.

But we'll also take the road less travelled here and name an entire culture as Isaac's antagonist—the culture of Southern whites that supported slavery and promoted the exploitation of people and resources even after Abolition. The Edmonds family is representative of this culture. This is what Isaac sets his life against, and it's his biggest challenge to overcome.