Fourth Brother (Franklin) Character Analysis

Fourth Brother is the first child of Father’s second marriage, and he is Niang’s eldest and favorite child. As one of Niang’s biological children, he is favored above the stepchildren and given every luxury that can be offered in the face of the stepchildren’s comparative poverty. Although Adeline does not often describe her interactions with Fourth Brother, he is depicted as haughty, enjoying his elevated position over his older stepsiblings. He panders to Niang’s cruelty. When Little Sister, being reunited with Niang as a toddler, struggles against her mother, Fourth Brother screams at her to try to please Niang. As an older child, Fourth Brother tries to drop heavy encyclopedias on Ye Ye’s frail head as a wicked prank, though it would certainly result in a serious injury. Furthermore, Fourth Brother knows that he is impervious to punishment since he is Niang’s favorite, even after trying to assault Father’s father. Fourth Brother’s character develops little over the course of the story, but what little it does only shows him as becoming more and more vicious.