Identity CrisisThroughout the course of the novel, our nameless narrator is mistaken for a reverend, a pimp, a gambler, a fink, a unionist, a Southern N***o, a New York N***o, a rapist, a lover, a...

Dr. Bledsoe is the president of the narrator's college, and the narrator looks up to him until he turns out to be a big fat phony. While Dr. Bledsoe preaches a doctrine of hard work and humility as...

Ras the Destroyer (née Exhorter) is a "mahn" (as he puts it) from the West Indies. He is a black nationalist and strongly opposed to Brotherhood activities. He also—despite being a controversial...