Character guide

Ralph Kabnis

major

Also known as Kabnis, Ask Kabnis, brother Ralph, Mr. Kabnis, An Mr. Kabnis, Professor Kabnis

A Northern black teacher struggling with identity and alienation in the rural South.

Dan Moore

major

Also known as old Dan, Dan, Mr. Moore, Mr. Daniel Moore

A central figure in the Georgia stories, embodying rural black manhood and conflict.

Fred Halsey

major

Also known as Halsey, Fred, Mr. Halsey, Brother Fred

A black factory owner and friend to Kabnis, representing practical resilience.

Paul Johnson

major

Also known as Paul

A black student at a white university navigating interracial romance and identity.

Lewis

major

Also known as Mr. Lewis, Mister Lewis, Avoiding Lewis

An intellectual Northern black man visiting the South, a foil to Kabnis.

Esther

supporting

A young black woman in a small town, longing for love and escape.

Avey

supporting

A beautiful, aloof black woman in Washington D.C., object of the narrator's desire.

Tom Burwell

supporting

Also known as Tom

A black laborer who becomes the victim of a brutal lynching.

Muriel

supporting

Also known as Muriel—bored

A young black woman in a theater audience, object of Dan's obsessive attention.

Cora Kabnis

supporting

Also known as Cora, Cora an Kabnis

Kabnis's sister, a supportive but worried presence in his life.

Bob Stone

supporting

Also known as Bob, III Bob Stone

A white man who has a secret affair with a black woman, leading to tragedy.

Bona

supporting

A white Southern woman who dates Paul, challenging racial boundaries.

Fern

supporting

Also known as Fern Face

A mysterious, tragic black woman in a small Georgia town.

Dorris

supporting

Also known as Glorious Dorris

A dancer in a theater, object of Dan's desire and frustration.

Carrie K.

supporting

Also known as Carrie

A young black woman in the North, involved in a tense romantic encounter.

John Stone

supporting

Also known as John, brother John

Bob Stone's brother, a white man complicit in racial violence.

Hanby

supporting

Also known as that Hanby, Mr. Samuel Hanby, Mr. Hanby

A black school principal who represents oppressive respectability.

Barlo

supporting

Also known as King Barlo

A charismatic black preacher and folk figure in the rural South.

Professor Layman

supporting

Also known as Layman, Professor

An educated black man who visits Kabnis, discussing race and art.

Stella

supporting

A black woman in a Washington D.C. boarding house, involved with the narrator.

Louisa

supporting

Also known as honey Louisa

A black woman in the South, caught between two men in a love triangle.

Karintha

supporting

A beautiful black girl whose life is marked by early sexuality and tragedy.

Art

minor

Also known as dear Art, III Art, Arthur

A black man in a tense urban encounter with Carrie K.

Becky

minor

Also known as Becky Becky

A white outcast woman living on the edge of a black community.

Rhobert

minor

Also known as Rhobert Rhobert

A black man struggling under the weight of urban life and poverty.

Mrs. Pribby

minor

Also known as Pribby

A white landlady who enforces strict rules in her boarding house.

Ned

minor

A black man who appears in a brief, violent scene.

Helen

minor

Also known as Helen⁠

A woman mentioned in passing, possibly a love interest.

Mr. Barry

minor

A white man who interacts with the black community briefly.

Father John

minor

Also known as John, Father

An elderly black preacher in the Kabnis section.

Mame Lamkins

minor

Also known as Mame

A black woman whose brutal murder is recounted as a story.

Mr. Ramsay

minor

Also known as Ramsay

A white man who employs or interacts with black laborers.

Sam Raymon

minor

Also known as Sam

A black man mentioned in a brief narrative fragment.

Jim Clem

minor

Also known as Jim

A black man involved in a violent confrontation.

Yassur

minor

A minor character in the Kabnis section, possibly a servant.

Bane

minor

A minor figure mentioned in passing.

Nassur

minor

A minor character in the Kabnis section.

Berny

minor

A minor character mentioned briefly.

Old Blodson

minor

An elderly black man in the rural South.

Bernice

minor

A woman mentioned in a brief scene.

Old David Georgia

minor

An elderly black man in the rural South.

Old McGregor

minor

Also known as McGregor

A white man mentioned in a rural context.

Miss Hale

minor

A white woman in a brief social interaction.