Tar Baby: Analysis of Major Characters
"Tar Baby: Analysis of Major Characters" provides an in-depth examination of the key figures within Toni Morrison's novel "Tar Baby," focusing on their complexities and relationships. The central character, Jadine Childs, is an African American model who grapples with her identity amid the contrasting influences of her privileged upbringing and her cultural roots. Orphaned and raised by her aunt and uncle, she faces conflicts between her life in white society and the traditional expectations of her black family, particularly in relation to her lover, Son.
Son, an embodiment of the nostalgic past and a stark contrast to Jadine's refined world, challenges the perceptions her family holds about masculinity and black identity. Valerian Street represents a wealthy, detached perspective, preferring plant life over human connection, while his wife, Margaret, struggles with emotional instability and feelings of inadequacy. Sydney and Ondine Childs, Jadine's relatives, reflect traditional values and express both pride and resentment towards their circumstances, especially in light of Son's presence. Other characters like Gideon, Thérése, and Alma Estée serve crucial roles as local figures who influence the narrative's dynamics. Through these characters, the novel explores themes of race, identity, and the tensions between individual aspirations and cultural heritage.
Tar Baby: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Toni Morrison
First published: 1981
Genre: Novel
Locale: Isle de Chevaliers in the Caribbean, New York City, and Florida
Plot: Social realism
Time: The late 1970's
Jadine Childs, an African American model with a degree in art history from the Sorbonne. Orphaned at the age of twelve, she was taken in by her aunt and uncle, Ondine and Sydney Childs. Their employer, Valerian Street, helped them send Jadine to private schools and to the Sorbonne. Partially because of this upbringing, Jadine experiences conflict between the white society in which she is entrenched and the black culture represented by her uncle and aunt and by Son, her lover. Jadine refuses to conform to the traditional image of womanhood that both Ondine and Son want to impose on her. At the end of the novel, she returns to her own life in Paris, determined to face her fears alone.
William Green, called Son, an African American wanderer from Eloe, Florida. At the beginning of the novel, he escapes from a ship in the Caribbean and slips onto the boat that Jadine and Margaret have borrowed. Son represents everything that Sydney and Ondine have tried to keep from Jadine and everything that she seems to have rejected. To them, he seems to have the qualities of the stereotypical black male—he is shiftless, wild, and unrefined—yet he reveals an honest, direct way of looking at the world. Son, unlike Jadine, seems too nostalgic for the past. Despite initial antagonism, they fall in love.
Valerian Street, a rich, retired white industrialist from Philadelphia. He has retired to the Isle des Chevaliers in the Caribbean. Valerian does not interact well with other people, preferring plants instead. He treats his employees fairly well—better than he treats is wife—but never relinquishes his superior status.
Margaret Street, a beauty queen from Maine who married the much older Valerian and became pregnant soon afterward. She lacks emotional stability and often feels that her husband is closer to Sydney and Ondine than he is to her. She makes Ondine her confidante.
Sydney Childs, an African American who works as a butler for the Streets. Very proud of his “Philadelphia Negro” breeding, he seems to be even tempered, appreciative, and even friendly toward his employer until Son appears. After that, the novel reveals Sydney's resentment of Valerian. At the end, the balance of power between employer and employee shifts. His loving marriage with Ondine is in sharp contrast to the Streets' relationship.
Ondine Childs, Sydney's wife, the Streets' cook. She represents the traditional African American woman. She feels more like the “woman of the house” than does Margaret because of Margaret's inability to nurture her son. Ondine both resents and takes pride in Jadine, praising her accomplishments but wishing that Jadine were more like her; that is, more family-conscious. Like her husband, Ondine is very proud of who she is and patronizes those she considers beneath her, including Son and the local islanders, just as Valerian patronizes her.
Gideon, who is also called Yardman, Thérése, and Alma Estée, locals who often perform odd chores at the Streets' home. The three black people serve as catalysts for the major action of the novel.