Jonah's Gourd Vine: Analysis of Major Characters
"Jonah's Gourd Vine" explores the complex lives of its major characters set against the backdrop of the Southern United States. The central figure is John Pearson, a black minister and carpenter, who navigates a tumultuous journey from a troubled childhood on a sharecropper's farm to becoming a respected community leader. John's relationships, particularly with his three wives—Lucy Potts, Hattie Tyson, and Sally Lovelace—highlight his struggle with fidelity and personal demons. Lucy, his first wife, is portrayed as a supportive and intelligent woman who helps elevate John's status in the ministry despite his numerous extramarital affairs. Hattie, his second wife, is depicted as self-centered, ultimately leading to John's downfall. Meanwhile, Sally, John's third wife, symbolizes a chance at redemption, providing him with love and stability before his tragic end. The narrative also features key secondary characters, including Judge Alf Pearson, who serves as a father figure and mentor to John, and Amy Crittenden, John's mother, who embodies resilience and strength. Through these character dynamics, the story delves into themes of ambition, betrayal, and the search for identity within a racially charged society.
Jonah's Gourd Vine: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Zora Neale Hurston
First published: 1934
Genre: Novel
Locale: Alabama and Florida
Plot: Historical realism
Time: The post-Civil War period through the early
John Pearson, a black minister and carpenter. He grows up on a Southern sharecropper's farm with his mother, his step-father, and his two younger brothers. Increasing difficulties with his stepfather force John to leave the farm when he is sixteen years old. On the advice of his mother, he goes to Judge Pearson, who employs him and gives him clothes, along with changing John's last name from Crittenden to Pearson. John is tall and light-skinned, with gray eyes and curly hair. He is powerfully built and handsome. Soon he discovers that he is unable to control his sexual appetite. He has designs on Lucy Potts, the daughter of a well-to-do family. After they are married, John's philandering does not cease. One night when he is out, Lucy's brother, Bud, comes to collect a debt. Finding no money, he takes the bed that Judge Pearson gave the couple as a wedding present. When John returns, he whips Bud severely and must flee to escape prosecution and possible lynching. He goes to Sanford, Florida, and soon sends for his wife and children. He becomes a successful carpenter and later feels the call to preach. As pastor of Sanford's Zion Hope Baptist Church, John becomes a powerful figure in the community and the state. His philandering nevertheless continues. Soon after Lucy dies, John marries Hattie Tyson, who ruins his life, sues him for divorce, and is the catalyst for his leaving the ministry. John then goes to Plant City, Florida, where he meets and marries well-to-do widow Sally Lovelace and becomes the pastor of Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church. John lives in relative bliss and prosperity until he visits Sanford at Sally's urging. While he is in Sanford, John's sexual weakness leads him to give in to a young woman's advances. Disgusted with himself, John flees with his guilt back to Sally but is struck and killed by a train before he gets there. John's death is mourned by people from all over Florida.
Lucy Potts Pearson, John's first wife. Lucy is a petite but outspoken young girl when John first meets her. She is the smartest girl in her school, the lead singer in the Macedonia Baptist Church Choir, and the daughter of the well-to-do Potts family. Lucy encourages and supports John in his efforts, and she orchestrates his rise to prominence in the ministry. Although Lucy is aware of John's many extramarital affairs, she loves and supports him until her death.
Judge Alf Pearson, a wealthy white landowner suspected of being John's father. John's mother sends him to Judge Pearson to find work when he is still a young man. Judge Pearson takes John on as his driver and confidant; gives him clothes, responsibility, and a surname; and encourages him to go to school. In addition, he bails John out of trouble on several occasions and often counsels him about his various escapades with women. Finally, Judge Pearson engineers John's escape from prosecution by giving him money and the sound advice that distance is the only cure for certain diseases.
Amy Crittenden, John's mother. Amy had belonged to Judge Pearson before emancipation, and her eldest son is suspected to be Pearson's son. Amy is a champion of the worth of such unions between slave and master and a tenacious fighter when her husband attacks her for her defense of the light-skinned John.
Ned Crittenden, John's stepfather. Ned is a violent and lazy man. These characteristics are aggravated by alcohol and the false perception that his wife favors her mulatto son over him and their darker-skinned sons. His increasing violence toward his wife forces John to whip him soundly, which in turn results in John's leaving home.
Hattie Tyson Pearson, John Pearson's second wife. John had been in an affair with Hattie prior to Lucy's death, and he marries her three months after Lucy dies. The self-centered Hattie has the effect of dismantling all the good things that Lucy and John had built up.
Sally Lovelace Pearson, John's third wife. Sally is a wealthy widow in Plant City, Florida, where John goes following his departure from Sanford and the Zion Hope Baptist Church. With her love, money, and influence, Sally helps John put his life back together. Sally grieves hard when John is killed but is thankful that she found happiness with him, even though it was short-lived.