The Duke Character Analysis in James

The Duke is a young conman who claims he is the rightful Duke of Bridgewater. He joins Huck, Jim, and the King on their journey after he is run out of town for selling a defective toothpaste. Conniving and violent, the Duke beats Jim and assaults Easter. He views Black people as less than human.

The Duke Quotes in James

The James quotes below are all either spoken by The Duke or refer to The Duke. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Speech, Performance, and Willful Ignorance Theme Icon

I could believe it, I thought, pretending, in slave fashion, not to be there. After being cruel, the most notable white attribute was gullibility. As evidenced by Huck’s reaction. He said, “You fellers are amazin’.”

Related Characters: James (Jim) (speaker), Huck (speaker), The King, The Duke

Page Number and Citation: 106

Explanation and Analysis:

Jim and Huck meet the King and the Duke, two grifters who are fleeing the consequences of their most recent lies. Listening to the men discuss their most successful cons, Jim wholeheartedly believes in their ability to trick other white people. Noting that he—in the presence of the King and the Duke—is “pretending, in slave fashion, not to be there” highlights the dehumanizing white expectation that enslaved Black people go unnoticed when they are not being addressed. This corroborates the following statement, in which Jim calls white people in general “cruel” but also gullible. Huck’s response to the King and Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia

“Yes, but them people liked it, Jim. Did you see their faces? They had to know them was lies, but they wanted to believe. What do you make of that?”

“Folks be funny lak dat. Dey takes the lies dey want and throws away the truths dat scares ‘em.”

[…]

“I reckon I do that, too,” the boy said.

“What say?”

“I kin see how much you miss yer family and yet I don’t think about it. I forget that you feel things jest like I feel. I know you love them.”

“Thank you, Huck.”

Related Characters: James (Jim) (speaker), Huck (speaker), The Duke, The King

Page Number and Citation: 126-127

Explanation and Analysis:

Jim and Huck flee the revival and sail away on their raft, leaving the King and the Duke behind. Huck worries that the townspeople will punish the con men harshly, and Jim reminds him that the men are criminals and liars. In this passage, Huck argues that the townsfolk liked the men’s lies about being Christian missionaries because “they wanted to believe.” Jim responds by highlighting the human tendency to “takes the lies dey want and throws away the truths dat scares ‘em.” This observation applies to other situations throughout the novel, especially the way Jim and other enslaved Black Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro p

The Duke swung his belt and caught me at my knees. It did hurt. He laughed and did it again. I didn’t wince.

“You see that?” the King said. “I say, did you see that? They don’t even feel like no human man.”

[…]

“Don’t tear him up too much,” the King said. “We gotta be able to sell him. We cain’t get a dime fer him if’n he’s torn all asunder.”

“Hell, man,” the Duke said. “He ain’t no proper people. He don’t feel pain like we do. He need a lesson he kin remember. Nextwise, he’ll get it into his head to run again. That’s the way these creatures is built.”

Related Characters: The Duke (speaker), The King (speaker), Huck, James (Jim)

Page Number and Citation: 132

Explanation and Analysis:

The King and the Duke take Jim and Huck captive, planning to sell Jim repeatedly in order to con people out of their money. Before they enact this plan, the Duke insists on punishing Jim for running away from them in the last town, and he begins to beat him in front of a distraught Huck. In this passage, Jim’s refusal to wince at the Duke’s initial blows suggests he is engaged in another kind of performance, pretending not to be hurt in order to deny the men their depraved satisfaction. The King takes this as proof that Black people Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Volu

The Duke Character Timeline in James

The timeline below shows where the character The Duke appears in James. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Innocence vs. Disillusionment Theme Icon

...not his slave. The two newcomers are strangers in similar trouble. The young man ( the Duke ) was selling a shoddy product that stripped teeth of their enamel, while the old... (full context)

...gullibility of white people. The younger man confesses a secret: he is the son of the Duke of Bridgewater, and the rightful heir to that estate. The older man intentionally mispronounces the... (full context)

Racism, Dehumanization, and Hypocrisy Theme Icon

The Duke and the King question Huck and Jim. Seeing how the men suspect Jim is a... (full context)

...their canoe and raft to some trees before setting off on foot. The King and the Duke force Jim and Huck to come along, sure they will bolt if left on their... (full context)

...heals a woman with a physical disability. His accomplices collect the townsfolks’ money in baskets. The Duke , inspired, interrupts the preacher’s sermon with a speech about his own salvation. The Duke... (full context)

...is from a Jewish perspective. The preacher attempts to regain control of the crowd, but the Duke carries on about his crimes of piracy. When they see that Huck has collected plenty... (full context)

Jim and Huck run from the revival tent together, with the King and the Duke close behind. On a storefront in town, they see a wanted poster for a runaway... (full context)

Huck wonders if they ought to save the King and the Duke . Jim is astounded by his innocence and gently reminds Huck that the men will... (full context)

Jim and Huck continue traveling at night. One evening, they find the Duke and the King waiting by their raft, having stolen a boat and caught up to... (full context)

The King and the Duke force Huck and Jim to cook catfish for them while they plan to stop for... (full context)

The King and the Duke emerge from the saloon and take Huck and Jim to the town’s livery. There, they... (full context)

Jim wakes to see the Duke standing over him, furious that he is no longer chained up. He calls Easter over,... (full context)

Identity, Narrative, and Agency Theme Icon

...a white enslaver, selling Jim repeatedly to make some money. It is the same plan the Duke and the King thought to enact. Though dangerous, Norman agrees their situation cannot get any... (full context)

...tells Jim about the rumored war between the northern and southern states. The King and the Duke were with him on the boat, trying to escape to Ohio before fighting broke out.... (full context)

...but he told Miss Watson and Judge Thatcher about his adventures with the King and the Duke . Hopkins told Huck that Lizzie and Sadie were taken to Graham farm before the... (full context)

The Duke Character Analysis

The Duke Quotes in James

Part 1, Chapter 18 Quotes

Part 1, Chapter 21 Quotes

Part 1, Chapter 22 Quotes

The Duke Character Timeline in James