Tracy Character Analysis in The Thing Around Your Neck

In "On Monday of Last Week," Tracy is an African-American artist. She works alone in the basement of the home she shares with her husband Neil, and seldom sees her son Josh. She has a magnetic personality and habitually asks women that she meets, including Kamara and Josh's French teacher, to model for her. She tells Kamara that "the motherland" (Africa) informs her art.

Tracy Quotes in The Thing Around Your Neck

The The Thing Around Your Neck quotes below are all either spoken by Tracy or refer to Tracy. 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:

Women, Marriage, and Gender Roles Theme Icon

). Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Anchor Books edition of The Thing Around Your Neck published in 2009.

Kamara wondered where the child's mother was. Perhaps Neil had killed her and stuffed her in a trunk; Kamara had spent the past months watching Court TV and had learned how crazy these Americans were.

Related Characters: , , ,

Page Number and Citation: 77

Explanation and Analysis:

Tracy Character Timeline in The Thing Around Your Neck

The timeline below shows where the character Tracy appears in The Thing Around Your Neck. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...says that since last Monday, Kamara has started standing in front of mirrors and imagining Tracy touching her. When Kamara comes out of the bathroom, Tracy's seven-year-old son, Josh, is there.... (full context)

...months later, Kamara has developed a sense of affection for Neil and stopped wondering about Tracy. On Monday of last week, Kamara was looking at Josh's homework when Tracy appeared in... (full context)

Tobechi had noticed, however, that Kamara seemed "bright" on Monday of last week. When Tracy had come upstairs on that day, she grabbed Kamara's chin and complimented her teeth. Tracy... (full context)

Tracy mentioned that she spent time in Ghana and offers that "the motherland" informs her work.... (full context)

Kamara touches up her makeup and knocks on the basement door. Tracy opens the door, looking distant. Tracy and Kamara talk about Josh's certain win at the... (full context)

...him and agrees to make Josh's dinner later. Kamara hears the basement door open and Tracy appears. She greets Josh affectionately and Neil as though he's a sibling and not her... (full context)