A Measure of Time: Analysis of Major Characters
"A Measure of Time: Analysis of Major Characters" delves into the lives of several pivotal characters navigating the complexities of life in Harlem. The protagonist, Dorine Davis, is portrayed as a resilient and independent woman shaped by her traumatic childhood experiences, including abuses that lead her to forge her path through housework and illegal activities. Her journey reflects a quest for agency and self-sufficiency amid societal challenges, particularly through her relationships with men like Sonny, her first love who embodies the carefree hustler lifestyle, and Big H, a club owner whose fate intertwines with the criminal underworld of Harlem.
Sonny's fleeting presence in Dorine's life contrasts with Big H's more profound impact as a community figure and intellectual. The analysis also highlights Harry Brisbane, a failed restaurateur and Dorine's third love, whose relationship with her ultimately reveals the strains of economic hardship and moral conflict. Each character represents different facets of struggle and aspiration within the Harlem environment, showcasing the interplay of love, ambition, and the harsh realities of life during that era. This overview provides insight into the rich, character-driven narrative that explores themes of resilience, identity, and the pursuit of a better life against a backdrop of historical and cultural significance.
A Measure of Time: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Rosa Guy
First published: 1983
Genre: Novel
Locale: Montgomery, Alabama; Cleveland, Ohio; and New York City, particularly Harlem
Plot: Bildungsroman
Time: The 1920's to the 1950's
Dorine Davis, a saucy, free-spirited, hardheaded woman who plays both sides of the law. Reared by her grandmother, Dorine is hired out to do housework. At the age of ten, she is sent to work for a white man, Master Norton, who sexually molests her. Her family's inability to protect her makes Dorine realize that she must make her own way. She saves her money earned from housecleaning and performing sexual favors, a financial pattern she establishes in youth and follows as a young adult in Cleveland; only when she moves to New York City with her boyfriend, Sonny, does she hope to free herself by their making a life together. With the failure of this scheme, however, Dorine turns to a life of professional shoplifting, or “boosting,” confidence tricks, and nightclub management. Always a self-proclaimed “doer” rather than a “dreamer,” she ends up in wistful reverie over Harlem in its heyday and her youth.
Sonny, a natural hustler and Dorine's great love. He meets her in Cleveland when he is twenty-five and she is fourteen. For a time, he is Dorine's lover and pimp, but Sonny soon makes it clear that he cannot be domesticated. All shiny surface, Sonny pops in and out of Dorine's life; unknown to him, he has already fathered a son by her. When he dies from a heart attack, Sonny is eulogized as “Mr. Harlem.”
Big H, a “bookish” club owner and numbers racketeer and Dorine's second major love interest. A West Indian by heritage, Big H is an economic force in Harlem and the political and intellectual confidant of W. E. B. Du Bois. Attracting the attention of the Dutch Schultz gang, Big H is kidnapped and held for ransom; after his return, he is never quite the same, and the “kingdom” of Harlem is taken over by white mobsters.
Harry Brisbane, a failed West Indian restaurateur who is Dorine's third love. After the closing of his café, The Rising Sun, Harry finds himself pursued by Dorine. He is gratified to discover that Dorine is illiterate, and he is happy for a time to be her teacher, accountant, and chauffeur. Miffed by his economic idealism, however, Dorine forces Harry to confront the illegal source of their income by making him witness one of her thefts. Dorine and he fight more and more; eventually, Harry is committed to a mental hospital, where he dies.