Character Clues

Character Analysis

Actions

You know what they say: Actions speak louder than direct characterization. Or something like that. Anyway, you can tell a lot about what people are like by what they do in this novel. For example, Lily manages to convey Brother Gerald's racist leanings without having to say anything outright, simply mentioning that when he saw Rosaleen sitting down to cool off in his church, he "started to rub the bald space on his head with such agitation I thought he might rub down to the skull bone," which prompted Lily to remember that the church doesn't allow African Americans inside (1.237).

Direct characterization

Of course, Lily doesn't shy away from offering her own thoughts on people, when she feels like it. For example, she doesn't seem to have a high opinion of her father, T Ray:

He'd gone to church for forty years and was only getting worse. (1.11)

With that simple sentence, she prepares us for the ornery, godless creature T. Ray turns out to be.

Lest we keep dwelling on the negative, we can also give you nice example. When Lily is describing Rosaleen, she notes:

I was the only one who knew that despite her sharp ways, her heart was more tender than a flower skin and she loved me beyond reason. (1.73)

Aww. Rosaleen kind of keeps her warm and fuzzy side on the down low, so direct characterization is pretty useful here in clueing us in.

Family life

To return to the example of T. Ray, we also learn a lot about him from how he treats his daughter. When he gets mad at Lily for running out in the middle of the night, he pours grits all over the floor and makes her kneel on them for over an hour. According to Lily, it feels like powdered-glass—ouch. So, he's not the gentlest guy.

Thoughts and Opinions

Lily's descriptions of Brother Gerald provide us with an example of this kind of characterization as well. She notes that Brother Gerald and other leaders in the church are big believers in "separate but equal," and they will even go so far as to stand in front of the church with linked arms to prevent African Americans from attending service. The explanation?

We loved them in the Lord, Brother Gerald said, but they had their own places. (1.240)

Um, yeah—really, say no more.

Speech and Dialogue

A good chunk of the time, Lily lets characters speak for themselves without editorializing too very much. Case in point: T. Ray again. She quotes his opinions about her love for reading, and they're definitely telling: "'Who do you think you are, Julius Shakespeare?' The fact that he wants to call Lily out for reading, combined with his confusion about Shakespeare's first name, speaks volumes about where T. Ray's priorities are.