Character Clues

Character Analysis

Clothing

Whether worn for fashion or tradition, clothes say a lot about characters in Roots.

Chicken George's fashion sense is a reflection of his showy style, for example. In fact, his style is so iconic that Matilda is able to recognize her father-in-law, despite not having ever met him, simply because he's sporting his trademark combo: a green scarf and "the black derby hat that was his wedding present from Massa Lea" (94.3). We're taking notes over here, guys.

Clothing is also an important part of Kunta's identity as a Mandinka. Once he leaves the first-kafo, which is the Mandinka term for children below five years of age, he receives his "dundiko," a garb that is his first article of clothing ever (9.9). As you can imagine, Kunta is beyond proud, and his celebratory struts around the village of Juffure help us relate to him as a character,

Sex and Love

Kunta Kinte might be Chicken George's grandpa, but you would've never guessed it by looking at their respective approaches to romance.

The ever-serious Kunta is even more serious when it comes to the ladies. Part of that's understandable: he was kidnapped and brought to America in his late teens, which means that he wasn't able to truly experience those important years. But part of it is just the dude's nature. There are few aspects of his life he doesn't take seriously to the max, and that's one of the reasons we enjoy his character so much.

Chicken George is another story, however. While he approaches cockfighting with his grandfather's poker-faced seriousness, he's a bit more freewheeling when it comes to love, racking up countless beaus before (and after) marrying Matilda. Although George proves his devotion to his wife by the time everything's said and done, his prodigious romantic exploits reveals him to be a much more outgoing guy than ol' grandpa Kunta.

Social Status

Although Roots centers around racial dynamics in America, class issues play an important role as well.

Look at Ol' George, who is pretty much the only white person who treats our central family with real respect. Unlike the other "crackers" they meet, who take out their jealousy of rich landowners by violently abusing black people, Ol' George "ain't try to act like sump'n he wasn't" (111.80). Even after he gets hired as their overseer, Ol' George never stops treating the Kinte clan as his equals, and they repay his kindness by bringing him along to Henning.

Massa Tom Lea provides a striking contrast. Like Ol' George, Tom Lea was born to a poor, rural family, but has since made a bunch of money and moved up the class ladder. That would have been great if he used that money to improve the lives of his family, like Chicken George and Tom would have, but he doesn't, using it instead to pass himself off as a real aristocrat. By running away from his class roots, Massa Lea reveals the shambling quality of his moral character.