English 101
November 2, 2015
Literary Analysis: Little Scarlet
Characters in story are probably the most important element of the story that builds the world within the book, especially for a novel like Little Scarlet by Walter Mosley. Characters add more depth and make readers put themselves in the situations that characters go through in the story. The main protagonist Easy Rawlins and his interactions with other characters adds to his knowledge and understanding of the situation at hand. He’s a detective, although not licensed, he’s more than capable of handling a murder case, but what do detectives do? Detect! They’re able to notice the slightest change in emotion of a character’s face. A hair from across the room could have …show more content…
She is able to calm him, put him at ease, and her intimate relationship with him always sheds a light for him at the end of his tunnel. Gerald Jordan, the deputy chief is seen by Easy as the source of all the problems African-Americans have and he wonders if he killed him the moment he met him whether all his people’s problems would disappear. Finally, but not least, Harold, the man that causes the upbringing of so much hate and despair for Easy makes Easy do things that no normal person would do to get justice. Easy isn’t a youngster anymore, but the characters he interacts with craft his deductive skills and make him see the harsh, cold reality that L.A …show more content…
His mother was African-American, who wasn’t happy with her skin tone. She neglected her son, so she could be with her white husband. This made Harold develop a hate so strong that it would lead him to his murderous spree. Harold had other encounters with Easy, but if this is the first Easy Rawlins book for you, he comes off as a mysterious character. The book never really shows us his personality or what type a person he was, aside from Easy learning more about this murderer from other people. He was a bum and his troubled past lead him to murder women like Nola who had fallen in love with a white man. He despised colored women choosing white men over him. His mother, the last person you would think to make you a murderer was the source of his hate. She was the source, the root of all evil for him, and it ended with her. She killed him, and he killed her. This showed Easy that black men were tired of getting 2nd place, at least in Harold’s case he didn’t take any of it and brought him to his