Paul Rivers Character Analysis

LaJoe’s husband, to whom she is still married after seventeen years, only visits his family sporadically. Both LaJoe and her children, especially Lafeyette and Pharoah, feel resentful toward Paul for choosing drugs over his family. Paul does not actively participate in family life and has stolen and sold some of the family’s belongings to buy drugs. Paul understands his family’s grievances and often adopts an attitude of self-pity and despondency, as he blames himself for his family’s situation but does not believe himself capable of overcoming his addiction to drugs and alcohol. Nevertheless, he does occasionally defend his children and, through his presence, constitutes a rare example of fatherhood in the neighborhood, as many children at Horner are forced to grow up without a father.