Black Shack Alley Character Analysis

Is it necessary to have a strong parental bond in childhood to become successful in adulthood? Neurobiologists say yes. They have located regions within the amygdala and cortex that facilitate in social recognition and impede stress responses. In this paper, I will first give a brief introduction to Jojo and explain why he stood out to me above the rest of the characters, I will then explore what Zobel was expressing with Jojo’s character about the social and cultural values of the Haitians in the story and the importance of parental bonding.
Joseph Zobel’s novel, Black Shack Alley, contains many characters, but the one that stood out to me, and one I believe had a profound impact on the protagonist, José, was Jojo, also known as George Roc. Jojo lives with his father, step-mother, and their maid. Together, they live in a house that is painted with …show more content…
Mr. Roc is a mulatto, the son of béké and a Haitian plantation slave. In the social hierarchy of Haiti during the time of the novel, the béké were at the top and the black Hattian’s are on the bottom. Easily recognizable because of their light skin color, the béké hold most of the wealth, property, and prestige in society. One power that the béké held over the slaves was rape. Jojo’s father took advantage of this power with one of the plantation workers he was in charge of (Jojo’s mother), and thus Jojo was born. Mr. Roc made the decision to claim acknowledgement of Jojo as his child, however he did not claim the plantation worker as his wife. Jojo’s mother lived with them, but Mr. Roc was getting married to another woman, maman Yaya. Rank is an interesting dichotomy to explore in Jojo because it shows the two extremes within a single character. Even though his father had power and prestige, it was not transferred onto his son Jojo, because of the color of his