1959: Analysis of Major Characters
"1959: Analysis of Major Characters" explores the lives of several key figures during a pivotal moment in American history, focusing on the integration of an all-white junior high school in Virginia amidst the civil rights movement. The narrative centers on Willie Tarrant, a bright twelve-year-old girl whose life takes a dramatic turn as she navigates adolescence while confronting racial tensions and societal changes. Her father, Dixon Tarrant, a once-complacent professor, gradually becomes a community leader advocating for civil rights following his daughters' and others' involvement in desegregation efforts.
Other prominent characters include Ralph Johnson, a disillusioned engineer turned barber who channels his frustrations into activism; Mae Taliaferro, a teacher who challenges educational inequities and inspires her students to think critically about history; and Coleman Boteler, a conflicted writer whose personal struggles eventually lead him into the civil rights movement. The narrative also touches on Maddie Alexander, who transforms from a social climber into an empowered organizer, and Herman Shaw, a figure representing the backlash against desegregation efforts. Collectively, these characters illustrate the diverse responses to the civil rights struggle, reflecting the complexities of identity, activism, and social justice in a transforming society.
1959: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Thulani Davis
First published: 1992
Genre: Novel
Locale: The Chesapeake Bay area of Virginia
Plot: Social realism
Time: 1959
Willie Tarrant, the narrator, a bright twelve-year-old girl who, in 1959, is preoccupied with boys, kissing, and music. After she is selected to be one of six African American students to integrate the all-white Patrick Henry Junior High, Willie's mundane world is shattered. She and the all-black community of Turner, Virginia, become embroiled in the civil rights struggle. As this naïve yet spirited young girl comes of age during this turbulent period in American history, she shares her eloquence and sense of dignity with her community. Willie's narrative becomes a metanarrative for the African American experience.
Dixon Tarrant, Willie's father, a man who has slipped into complacency after the death of his activist wife. He is a permissive parent to Willie and her older brother Preston, more concerned with gardening than with parenting. Dixon, a chemistry professor at the local college, is apolitical at the beginning of the novel. His slight participation in community activities stems from his need to perpetuate his memories of his late wife rather than from any social impetus. He has immured himself from political and social issues. Only after eight Turner College students are jailed for staging a peaceful sit-in at a local lunch counter does Dixon become involved in the desegregation movement. He becomes one of the community leaders, charging his children and his community to assert their Constitutional rights.
Ralph Johnson, Dixon's former college classmate. Even though he holds a bachelor's degree in engineering, Johnson can find employment only as a barber. A profoundly embittered man, Johnson seeks relief in the jazz records he plays continuously. He, too, becomes a leading figure in the desegregation movement.
Mae Taliaferro, a teacher at Ida B. Wells Junior High. Forced to use outdated and biased textbooks to teach, Mrs. Taliaferro encourages her students to question local social issues and the white rewriting of history, much to the chagrin of the board of education.
Coleman Boteler, a tormented aspiring writer and teacher. A self-centered and self-indulgent man, Coleman virtually ignores his wife, Lillian, and their son, Little Cole. At first, he uses the desegregation meetings as a ruse to enable him to continue his extramarital affair with Charlesetta Roberts. Eventually, Coleman leaves the periphery and is drawn into the civil rights struggle.
Maddie Alexander, a distant cousin of the Tarrants and mother of Willie's best friend, Marian. At the outset of the novel, Maddie whiles away her time as a social climber and town gossip. During the boycott and picketing of Walter's Department Store, she discovers a natural talent for organizing. In one of the most dramatically charged episodes in the novel, she and several other women bravely confront the police and their attack dogs.
Herman Shaw, the white supremacist member of the school board who demands that Mae Taliaferro be discharged for teaching what he sees as communist dogma. Shaw openly advocates the Ku Klux Klan's interference in desegregation activities.