Character Clues

Character Analysis

Actions

In a straightforward folk tale like "The People Could Fly," the characters' actions tell us everything we need to know.

For example, Toby shows his warmth and goodness by helping people when they're down and out. He lifts up Sarah when she "couldn't stand up straight any longer" (13), and he helps the young man who "fell from the heat" (21). Toby could just have easily fly away and not worry about his fellow slaves, but instead, he puts his life on the line to give them all a chance at freedom.

The Master and his henchman, on the other hand, merely reveal their despicable nature. The fact that the Driver "cracked the whip across the baby" (9) says it all, though in case it isn't clear that he's terrible, he also whips a man after he collapses from the heat. This cruelty reveals that these dudes are straight-up sadistic, happily inflicting violence at every chance.

Props

They say you are what you eat, but we'd wager that you actually are what you're holding.

Now, that's a bit confusing for us because we happen to be holding a handful of baby carrots, but you get the picture, right?

While it might seem weird to call a human baby a prop, Sarah's child functions as one in "The People Could Fly." We see her carrying the baby as she "trembled to be so hard worked and scorned" (5). This immediately establishes a great deal of sympathy for her character. Can you imagine how hard it must be to care for a child while working backbreaking labor? It's unimaginable.

Similarly, it's no coincidence that the bad guys all carry weapons. The Driver carries a whip, inflicting its "slice-open cut of pain" (6) on the slaves, and later, we watch as the Master takes "his hip gun from its place" (24), readying it for use on Toby. This emphasizes the power structure of the plantation: While the Driver inflicts pain on a day-to-day basis, the Master is ultimately responsible for all of this death and suffering.

Direct Characterization

There's nothing like some good old-fashioned direct characterization. After all, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

For instance, the Master is described using some simple but effective metaphors. He's a "hard lump of clay" (6), detached and unaffected by the suffering inflicted every day on his behalf. What kind of monster "wouldn't be moved" (6) by all of this? Um, a monstrous one. To be honest, though, we'd say that the Master is able to remain so detached because the Overseer and Driver do the dirty work.

Later, the characterization of the non-flying slaves builds sympathy for their plight. Although they've just witnessed a miraculous occurrence that fulfills their wildestdreams, they "were too afraid to shout" (24). For them, there's still a difficult road ahead. This also gives us a sense of the psychological effects of slavery, revealing the painful internal turmoil that must've been felt on a daily basis.