Blue Boy: Analysis of Major Characters
"Blue Boy: Analysis of Major Characters" delves into the rich tapestry of individuals that shape the life of Jean, the titular character, who begins his journey at the age of seven in the Provençal hills. As the narrator of his own fictionalized autobiography, Jean provides insight into his experiences with love, loss, and the complexities of human emotion. His father, Père Jean, emerges as a central figure, embodying compassion and resilience as a cobbler and healer, guiding his son through life's challenges. The narrative also introduces key figures such as Massot, a shepherd who cares for Jean during a period of illness, and the musicians Décidément and Madame-la-Reine, who inspire the boy's appreciation for music.
Throughout the story, Jean grapples with his dual identity; while he performs menial tasks in a bank, he nurtures a deeper, more introspective "Blue Boy" persona that seeks solace in poetry and empathy for others. The relationships Jean builds with these characters, including his poignant moments with his father, offer a profound exploration of healing, growth, and the enduring impact of human connections. This analysis provides a thoughtful examination of the major characters, highlighting their roles in shaping Jean's journey towards maturity and understanding.
Blue Boy: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Jean Giono
First published: Jean le bleu, 1932 (English translation, 1946)
Genre: Novel
Locale: The Provence region of France
Plot: Bildungsroman
Time: c.1900–1914
Jean (zhahn), the Blue Boy, a boy of about seven when the story opens. He grows to maturity by the end of the book, when he joins the French army in 1914. Jean lives with his mother and father in the Provençal hills at the Italian border. He is the narrator of this fictionalized autobiography, in which he recounts incidents in his own life and the lives of those around him from a boy's point of view, observing grief, sickness, death, and cruelty, as well as joy and delight. An impressionable, imaginative, solitary child, he spends hours watching people from the windows of his parents' apartment, looking into the windows and doors of the neighbors' apartments and down into the sheep pen that forms the “ courtyard” of the apartment building. Much of his time is spent in his mother's laundry on the ground floor and in the cobbler's shop of his father on the third floor. Carefully dressed, with a starched white collar and a sky-blue silk tie, he attends the convent school of the Sisters of the Presentation. Much later, when he has become a young man, he gets a job at a bank, where he must wear blue livery. At that job, he feels divided into two parts, one that carries out orders and performs menial tasks, and the inner one, which he calls “Blue Boy.” That part has been taught how to escape into the world of poetry, music, and compassion for the suffering of others.
Père Jean (pehr), the Blue Boy's father, a cobbler and a healer, the real hero of the book. The boy sees many people come to his father's workroom seeking help with problems of all kinds, physical and spiritual. The cobbler welcomes them all without question or judgment and does what he can to relieve their suffering and enable them to continue their lives with renewed strength and courage. The father keeps cages filled with songbirds. After a long period of yearning and saving, he buys a small plot of land for a garden, where, as he grows old and ill, he sits under the trees he planted and feeds the rabbits. It is here and in the workroom that Jean and his father have their last conversations. The old man speaks his thoughts about living in order to heal and to comfort through extinguishing wounds and composing poetry. If his son learns these things, the father says, he will become a man.
Massot and his wife, to whom Jean is sent by his father to live for a year, so that the boy can regain his health after a long illness. Massot is a shepherd. Jean plays with their shy little girl, Anne, and he spends the summer with “the dark man,” who has also been sent by Père Jean to be healed. The two tend the sheep, talk, and immerse themselves in Homer's The Iliad. Both the boy and the man are healed.
Décidément (day-see-day-MAHN) and Madame-la-Reine (rehn), a violinist and a flutist, respectively. The two brothers share an apartment in the house where Jean lives. Jean's father sends his young son to listen to the musicians, recognizing that for the boy the pleasure of hearing music is greater than the act of performing it. The two musicians are among the most memorable of the myriad characters who people the book. The death of Décidément occurs shortly after Jean returns from his year at Corbieres with the Massots.