Character Clues
Character Analysis
Social Status
In many ways, this is the story of one family’s struggle to move on up; it’s about people searching for a way out of poverty and the author’s beliefs about how that is done.
Consider for a second just how opposite Katie and Johnny are. Now consider the fact that Katie makes it to a better life, but Johnny dies. Do you think Betty Smith is trying to tell us something about how to move up in the world?
“Katie had a fierce desire for survival which made her a fighter” (10.49). In other words, she has a plan, she knows what must be done, and she works and works and works toward that goal. When there is no money for rent, Katie finds a place that she can clean in exchange for rent. She is, quite simply, a woman on a mission.
Katie sacrifices constantly to meet her goal. She sacrifices warmth and food just so she can add a few pennies to her tin can bank, all to reach her goal of getting her children educated and breaking the cycle of poverty. And boy is she successful: At the end of the novel, Francie is off to college and Neeley is in high school.
Papa, however charming and sweet he may be, is ineffective. “Johnny had a hankering after immortality which made him a useless dreamer” (10.51). Ouch. Johnny is not hardworking, and says so himself: “I got a wife and children and I don’t happen to be a hard-working man” (3.40). Instead, he is content just working the occasional job. Johnny is not strong, and his weaknesses contribute not only to the suffering of his family, but ultimately end up killing him too.
The differences between Katie and Johnny can be summed up like this: “Johnny knew he was doomed and accepted it. Katie wouldn’t accept it. She started a new life where her old one left off.” (10.49). So what is Betty Smith saying about social status through these characters? Do you think she believes that improving yourself is possible or impossible? What kind of character traits do you think she believes a person needs in order to move up in the world? Do you agree?
Thoughts and Opinions
We are lucky enough to be privy to many of our character’s thoughts and opinions, which helps us get to know the characters pretty well. Without this knowledge, we may misinterpret some things.
On Christmas Eve, the children come home carrying a tree that they won by having it cruelly thrown at their heads. For real. Everyone is so excited about the fact that they scored the biggest tree in the whole neighborhood, and Papa puts on a big show and so do all the neighbors. Everyone admires the tree and make the kids feel great.
Everyone except Mama, that is. She stands at the top of the steps silently in deep thought. She thinks about the incredible cruelty of the situation and how upsetting it is that her kids think this kind of mean and dirty life is acceptable and nice. She thinks, “They can’t see that we live on a dirty street in a dirty house among people who aren’t much good. Johnny and the children can’t see how pitiful it is that our neighbors have to make happiness out of the filth and dirt” (27.35). This makes her become even more steadfast in her goal to get her kids educated and into better lives.
Had we not been able to hear what Mama was thinking, we could have easily misinterpreted her silence as Mama harshing everyone’s mellow once again. Instead, though, we see it stems from deep love and concern for her children.
Props
Our main characters all have a prop—something that is often mentioned when they are around. This is not always a physical thing; sometimes it is a behavior. These props give us insight into their characters, so let’s look at a few of them.
Papa is often singing. He sings beautiful songs that people want him to sing for a living, but these are different tunes than the ones he'd choose for himself. Papa loves romantic tales of the sea and old Irish folk ballads, and whenever he comes home late at night (which is often, either due to working late or drinking late) he sings "Molly Malone" as he comes up the steps. Inside the apartment, he enjoys sitting at the piano and singing "Annie Laurie," one of his favorite songs. So what does this prop tell us about Papa?
It gives us a glimpse into the wasted potential he has. People love to hear him sing, but he is reduced to being an entertainer instead of an artist in control of his own performances.
It also shows us just how sensitive Johnny is. He is a romantic who doesn’t understand why life isn’t as easy as it is made to seem in the songs. A perfect example of this is when he takes the kids fishing. He just doesn’t understand how things could go so wrong when all the songs told him it would go so beautifully. “Why, oh why hadn’t it turned out the way it did in a song? Why did there have to be his blistered hands and his spoiled suit and sunburn and rotting fish and nausea? [. . .] He couldn’t figure it out—he couldn’t figure it out. The songs of the sea had betrayed him (29.49-50).
Mama’s prop is her red, cracked hands. They emphasize the fact that Mama is a very hard worker; her hands are red from supporting her family. But whenever she looks at her hands, she hides them in some way. This might make us think that she is ashamed of the life she is living that makes her hands so rough. It seems possible, though, that she is also a little sad to see her beauty fading. It is often when she thinks about McShane when she looks down at her hands and then hides them. Maybe she feels unworthy? What do you think? This focuses on a different side of Mama, a side where she is not as fiercely sure of herself.
These are just two examples. What others can you think of?