A young boy who lives next door to Seth and Bertha’s boarding house. Reuben befriends Zonia, eventually kissing her and telling her that when he grows up, he’s going to come looking for her. Reuben also talks extensively about his young friend, Eugene, who has recently died. Apparently, Reuben promised Eugene that he’d set the young boy’s collection of pigeons free, but when Eugene died, Reuben couldn’t stand to do so. Instead, he sells them one by one to Bynum for the old man’s strange rituals, which is what Eugene did when he was alive.
Get the entire Joe Turner’s Come and Gone LitChart as a printable PDF.
Reuben Scott Character Timeline in Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
The timeline below shows where the character Reuben Scott appears in Joe Turner’s Come and Gone. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Act One: Scene One
In the backyard, Zonia meets a boy her age named Reuben, who lives next door. Reuben asks why she and Herald are living in Seth’s house,...
(full context)
Herald comes into the backyard and interrupts Zonia and Reuben’s conversation, ordering her inside to take a bath. “Look at you,” he says. “You growing...
(full context)
Act Two: Scene Four
The next morning, Zonia and Reuben are playing outside when Reuben says he saw Bynum the previous night “singing and talking...
(full context)
Reuben asks Zonia when she and Herald will be leaving, and she tells him they’re getting...
(full context)
