Ti-Jean Character Analysis

The youngest of three brothers and the protagonist of the play, Ti-Jean grows up in poverty raised by a single mother on a cold mountain somewhere in the Caribbean. While his oldest brother, Gros Jean, is known for his strength, and his middle brother, Mi-Jean, is known for his intellect, Ti-Jean is still really a child, and hasn’t developed any particular skill set when the play begins. When the Bolom—the horrifying ghost of an aborted fetus who is a servant of the Devil—appears outside of his family’s home to announce that the Devil has a challenge for the three boys, Ti-Jean is the only member of the family with enough courage to go outside and meet the Bolom. Ti-Jean demonstrates great courage again when he goes to meet the Devil for the challenge, which his two older brothers have failed at. The conditions of the challenge are that whoever makes the Devil angry will win property and riches, but if the Devil is able to provoke anger in one of the boys, he will eat that boy alive. As Ti-Jean is leaving for the challenge, his mother worries that, having neither strength nor great intelligence, Ti-Jean has no weapon to defeat the Devil. But Ti-Jean has something that his brothers don’t: faith in God. Because he respects God and all of his creatures, Ti-Jean takes time to speak with Frog on his way to meet the Devil. (Both of his brothers came across Frog, as well, but either insulted or ignored him.) Rewarding Ti-Jean for his kindness, Frog warns him that the Old Man, Papa Bois, is the Devil in disguise. Ti-Jean cleverly defeats the Devil by burning down his plantation, and refusing to complete the menial tasks the Devil has assigned him. Through his defeat of the Devil, Ti-Jean demonstrates resistance, faith, and courage.