JB’s mother is a second-generation Haitian immigrant. JB is unlike the rest of his close friends in that he has a loving and supportive family. She is a successful educator and professor, and she has worked hard to put JB through the best schools. Her husband (JB’s father, also a Haitian immigrant) died when JB was three. Like the rest of JB’s family, JB’s mother has always believed in JB and his art.
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JB’s Mother Character Timeline in A Little Life
The timeline below shows where the character JB’s Mother appears in A Little Life. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 1: Lispenard Street: Chapter 1
On Sunday, JB rides the train to JB’s mother ’s house and thinks about how grateful he is for his family. JB’s father, an...
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...white schoolfriends uncomfortable, insinuating that he was just “another fatherless black boy.” He told them his mother had finished school after he was born, not specifying that it was graduate school; and...
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...and decides that he’s finally ready to announce that he’s moving out. But he finds his mother in the kitchen making him breakfast. When she asks him how many days he’d like...
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Part 3: Vanities: Chapter 3
...think you’re so attracted to drugs, JB? What do you feel they give you?”) because JB’s mom is paying for the sessions. He makes up answers he thinks Giles will like. For...
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Part 4: The Axiom of Equality: Chapter 1
...Meth Anonymous, and after losing the lease on his apartment, he moved back in with his mother . JB pleaded for Jude’s forgiveness. Jude told JB that he’d always want the best...
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