Young Black Man / Wayne Hoobler Character Analysis

A recent parolee from the Adult Correctional Institution at Shepherdstown and a direct descendant of Josephus Hoobler. Wayne represents the stereotypical black criminal who becomes institutionalized because his racist society assumes that since he is a black man, he belongs behind bars. From orphanages to juvenile homes and prisons, Wayne has grown accustomed to living in “cages,” so much so that he “misses the clash of steel doors” after he is released from prison. Wayne thinks that Earth is “terrible,” and he has only a “feeble will to survive.” His life’s ambition is to work for Dwayne Hoover, whose advertisements he has seen and heard time and time again. Wayne dreams of “a better world,” or “Fairy Land,” free from the racism and oppression of American society. He serves as a sort of foil to Dwayne Hoover, who because of his white skin, enjoys privileges otherwise denied to Wayne. Dwayne and Wayne have practically the same name and come from practically the same place, their only difference is how society views and accepts them. Wayne Hoobler underscores the mass incarceration of black men in American society, but he also emphasizes the novel’s central argument that “white robots are just like black robots, in that they are programmed to be whatever they are, to do whatever they do.”