Daddy Was a Number Runner: Analysis of Major Characters
"Daddy Was a Number Runner" is a novel that explores the challenges faced by a young girl named Francie Coffin as she navigates her family's struggles in Harlem during the Great Depression. The story is told from Francie's perspective, highlighting her resilience and determination in the face of poverty, violence, and turmoil within her family. Key characters include Henrietta Coffin, Francie's mother, who works tirelessly to keep the family afloat, and James Adam Coffin, Francie's father, who is a numbers runner but ultimately succumbs to the pressures of his situation. Francie's brothers, James Junior and Sterling, illustrate different responses to their challenging environment; James Junior becomes involved with a gang and later a pimp, while Sterling takes on a protective role as he leaves school to support the family. The narrative also features Francie's friendships with girls like Sukie Maceo and Maude Caldwell, who each grapple with their circumstances in their own ways. The novel paints a poignant picture of a young girl's coming-of-age journey amidst the harsh realities of life, emphasizing themes of loyalty, survival, and the impact of socioeconomic struggles on family dynamics.
Daddy Was a Number Runner: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Louise Meriwether
First published: 1967 as short story; 1970 as novel
Genre: Novel
Locale: Harlem, New York
Plot: Bildungsroman
Time: June 2, 1934, to the fall of 1935
Francie Coffin, the twelve-year-old narrator of this novel of initiation, who witnesses the disintegration of her Harlem family over the course of a year. She has or finds the skills to survive in this world of poverty, violence, and sexual abuse. Francie is bright, loyal, and enterprising.
Henrietta Coffin, Francie's mother, the person who holds the Coffin family together. She goes to work part-time, later full-time, for a white woman, applies for welfare against the wishes of her husband, and somehow manages to save her shrinking family.
James Adam Coffin, Francie's “beautiful” father, who is a numbers runner in his Harlem neighborhood. He can barely support his family in the bottom of the Depression, even working as a janitor in exchange for rent and with occasional piano jobs. In the end, the pressures of his family get to him, and he leaves to move in with Mrs. Mackey.
James Junior, Francie's older brother, fifteen years old. He is impatient with the pace of his life, joins the Ebony Earls, a youth gang, and drops out of school to work for Alfred, a Harlem pimp. Later, he lives with Belle, a prostitute.
Sterling, Francie's fourteen-year-old brother, who graduates from junior high school. He also is impatient with his family's poverty, and he leaves school to go to work for an undertaker. Sterling watches out for his younger sister and becomes the father figure to the family by the novel's end.
Sukie Maceo, Francie's best friend, a girl with much anger that comes out in fights with Francie. Sukie's sister is China Doll, a prostitute. By the novel's close, Francie realizes that Sukie is headed for the same awful end.
Maude Caldwell, another good friend of Francie. She and the other members of her West Indian family live next door to the Coffins.
Aunt Hazel, Henrietta Coffin's sister, a successful single domestic worker who is always able and willing to lend money to Francie's struggling family.