The Blacker the Berry: A Novel of Negro Life: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Blacker the Berry: A Novel of Negro Life" presents a compelling exploration of race, identity, and self-perception through its protagonist, Emma Lou Morgan. Struggling with her dark skin in a society that favors lighter complexions, Emma Lou faces ostracism from both her family and peers throughout her life. Her journey takes her from an unwelcoming Idaho to the vibrant, yet complex, environment of Harlem, where she navigates her internalized prejudices and seeks acceptance. The novel features a range of characters that reflect the multifaceted nature of racial dynamics, such as Alva, her mixed-race lover who exploits her vulnerabilities, and Gwendolyn, her supportive friend who grapples with her own light-skinned privilege. Emma Lou's interactions reveal the pervasive colorism within the Black community and highlight the broader societal issues surrounding race. Through her experiences, the narrative critiques the social constructs of beauty and belonging, ultimately depicting Emma Lou's struggle for self-acceptance amid the challenges posed by her own biases and the prejudices of others. This nuanced portrayal invites readers to reflect on the complexities of identity and community in the context of the African American experience.
The Blacker the Berry: A Novel of Negro Life: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Wallace Thurman
First published: 1929
Genre: Novel
Locale: Boise, Idaho; Los Angeles, California; and Harlem, New York
Plot: Satire
Time: The 1920's
Emma Lou Morgan, the extremely color conscious, and therefore self-conscious, protagonist. Because of her very dark skin, young Emma Lou repeatedly has been ostracized and victimized by her fair-skinned family in Idaho, her white high school classmates, fellow students at the University of California, and the people she meets when she flees from Southern California to Harlem. Naïve, intellectually pretentious, and an elitist, Emma Lou has internalized self-hatred; she worships light skin and, ironically, is herself biased against other dark-skinned people, generally finding them ugly and unattractive or too poor and unsophisticated for her. Having left college to work in New York, Emma Lou finds that her color prevents her from obtaining “congenial” jobs. As a maid for a white actress, she learns how white people think that black people act and live in Harlem. Toward the end of the novel, she completes a teacher training program and begins to teach. Because of both the color bias of others and her own excessive color consciousness, she remains largely isolated and alienated from the Harlem community.
Alva, Emma Lou's racially mixed Harlem lover, a charming, though heavy drinking, ladies' man. He is considered attractive largely because of his “high yellow,” or parchment, complexion and his sophisticated manners. Alva cynically uses Emma Lou both for sexual gratification and as a means of financial support. He perceives her loneliness and turns it to his advantage by courting her and introducing her to Harlem nightlife despite the laughter of his friends, who mock his attentions to so dark a woman. Eventually, he tires of her heightened color sensitivity and tells her frankly about her own prejudices. Toward the end of the novel, although his charms are considerably dissipated by alcohol and fast living, Alva still is able to manipulate Emma Lou.
Braxton, Alva's roommate and a would-be hustler, gambler, and youthful ladies'man as well. Braxton thinks of himself as a slightly duskier version of the white matinee idol Rudolph Valentino. He is proud, vain, and physically attractive. Braxton never has money because he will not work but cannot successfully make his living off his looks, his women, or his skills at gambling and hustling. He never says anything kind to Emma Lou and has no regard for dark-skinned black women.
Arline Strange, a white actress playing the part of a mulatto in the theater. She employs Emma Lou as her maid and attendant. She and her brother are the first people to introduce Emma Lou to Harlem's more celebrated nightclubs.
Geraldine, Alva's light-skinned girlfriend, whom he marries after she moves in with him, declaring that she is pregnant with his child.
Maria Lightfoot, Emma Lou's maternal grandmother in Boise, Idaho. Conscious of both class and color, Mrs. Lightfoot contributed to the social isolation Emma Lou endured as a child.
Jane Lightfoot Morgan, Emma Lou's mother, whose one act of bravery was marrying a man with ebony skin. Insensitive and ashamed of her daughter because of her dark complexion, she offers Emma Lou very little emotional support.
Joe Lightfoot, Emma Lou's uncle, the only relative who does not belittle her color. He persuades Emma Lou to attend the University of Southern California, thinking that there she could find “a larger and more intelligent social circle” in which the color bias would be less intense.
Jasmine Griffith, a West Indian immigrant renting a room in the same Harlem boarding house as Emma Lou. She functions as a foil to show the mutual suspicion and distrust that African Americans and West Indian immigrants once shared.
Gwendolyn Johnson, Emma Lou's one friend in Harlem. Educated, helpful, and sensitive to the effects of intraracial prejudice, Gwendolyn attempts to help Emma Lou by introducing her to the proper and respectable Harlem circles and by repeatedly deprecating light-skinned Negroes, despite her own light complexion.
Tony Crews, Cora Thurston, Paul, Truman, and Aaron, all young artists and intellectuals representing the “New Negro” intelligentsia of the Harlem Renaissance era. Tony Crews is modeled on Langston Hughes; other characters are thinly veiled portraits of authentic members of the Harlem literati.
Clere Sloane, a former actress who employs Emma Lou as her personal maid—almost her companion—when Arline Strange decides to go to Europe without her maid.
Campbell Kitchen, the husband of Clere, a celebrated writer and intellectual. A white liberal with a sincere interest in exploiting Harlem and the Negro vogue of the times, Campbell encourages Emma Lou to read and to go back to school for her teaching certification.