Previous
Mi-Jean
Mi-Jean and Ti-Jean’s older brother. Gros Jean is very strong, proud of his so-called “iron arm.” He is the first to leave home in order to accept the Devil’s challenge—Gros Jean is to make the Devil angry before the Devil can make him angry. As he leaves his family home to find the Devil, he comes across Frog in the forest, and wonders at how God could make such ugly creatures. Soon after that, Gros Jean comes across the Old Man, and asks him what the quickest path to success is. The Old Man tells him that money is what’s most important, and that working for the white Planter is the fastest way to riches. Gros Jean follows the Old Man’s directions to the plantation, where the Devil, disguised as the Planter, is his boss. After two days straight of work with no rest, Gros Jean wants to take a smoke break, but the Planter passive aggressively tries to encourage Gros Jean to keep working—after all, the harder Gros Jean works, the more the Planter will profit. Frustrated that the Planter doesn’t acknowledge how hard Gros Jean has already worked—and how much faster he is able to work than others, due to his strong arm—Gros Jean loses his temper with the Planter, and in doing so loses the challenge to the Devil. Like Mi-Jean, Gros Jean’s downfall is his ego.
Gros Jean Quotes in Ti-Jean and His Brothers
The Ti-Jean and His Brothers quotes below are all either spoken by Gros Jean or refer to Gros Jean. 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:
).
Prologue Quotes
MOTHER: Wait, and God will send us something.
GROS JEAN: God forget where he put us.
MI JEAN: God too irresponsible.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Act 1 Quotes
“Get out of my way, you slimy bastard! How God could make such things?”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
“What counts in this world is money and power.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
“Remember what the old son of a leaf-gathering beggar said? He said that working for the Devil was the shortest way to success. Well, I walked up through the bush then I come onto a large field. Estate-like, you know. Sugar, tobacco, and a hell of a big white house where they say the Devil lives. Ay-ay. So two next black fellers bring me up to him. Big white man, his hand cold as an axe blade and his mind twice as sharp.”
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
“Other people want what I have, Charley, and other people have more. Can’t help myself, Joe, it’s some sort of disease, and it spreads right down to the common man.”
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
“Sorry, sorry, Gros Jean, sometimes we people in charge of industry forget that you people aren’t machines. I mean people like you, Hubert…”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Ti-Jean and His Brothers LitChart as a printable PDF.
"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
Gros Jean Character Timeline in Ti-Jean and His Brothers
The timeline below shows where the character Gros Jean appears in Ti-Jean and His Brothers. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Prologue
...because Ti-Jean beat the Devil. In life, Ti-Jean had a mother and two older brothers: Gros Jean , whose arm “was hard as iron,” but who wasn’t the smartest knife in the...
(full context)
With his nose in his books, Mi-Jean is useless for fishing, and Gros Jean simply doesn’t have the brains. Unable to find any food for themselves, Ti-Jean’s family starves...
(full context)
...anything to eat. “Wait, and God will send us something,” she counsels her sons. But Gros Jean responds, “God forget where he put us.” Mi-Jean, equally cynical, says, “God too irresponsible.”
(full context)
...God to help them, and instead she is sent devil spawn. To protect their home, Gros Jean and Mi-Jean say, “Let two of our fingers form one crucifix!” Ti-Jean, on the other...
(full context)
Act 1
Early morning the next day, Gros Jean rises early and packs up a bundle. His mother is sorry to see him go,...
(full context)
When Gros Jean leaves the house, he soon comes across Frog and some other creatures. In fact, Frog...
(full context)
...Old Man limps onto the forest path, lifting his robe to scratch his hairy hoof. Gros Jean asks the older man what’s wrong with his foot. But the Old Man responds, “The...
(full context)
Finally, the Old Man resolves to help Gros Jean . He tells him that coming through the forest, he passed “some poor souls going...
(full context)
Meanwhile, Gros Jean , now in another part of the forest, reflects on the two days he’s spent...
(full context)
As Gros Jean is taking a break, the Devil, disguised as the Planter, comes up to him and...
(full context)
As the two men continue talking, the Planter mistakes Gros Jean ’s name again calling him “Gros Chien.” He excuses himself, saying “Can’t tell one face...
(full context)
Gros Jean is quick to correct the Planter, telling him that he himself is “no common man”—according...
(full context)
Frustrated that the Planter has mistaken his name again, Gros Jean stands up to correct him. The Planter tells Gros Jean to have his smoke, adding,...
(full context)
Act 2
The sun rises the next day on a cross marked “ Gros Jean .” Mi-Jean is walking quickly past the grave when Frog approaches, asking if Mi-Jean is...
(full context)
Act 3
...encounters Frog and greets the animal. Frog assumes Ti-Jean is making fun of him, as Gros Jean and Mi-Jean did, but the youngest brother protests, saying, “Why should I laugh at the...
(full context)
