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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.
Ti-Jean Quotes in Ti-Jean and His Brothers
The Ti-Jean and His Brothers quotes below are all either spoken by Ti-Jean or refer to Ti-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:
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Act 3 Quotes
“You are hardly a man, a stalk, bending in the wind with no will of its own, never proven your self, in battle or wisdom […]”
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“You have told me yourself our lives are not ours, that no one’s life is theirs husband or wife, father or son, that our life is God’s own.”
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Ti-Jean Character Timeline in Ti-Jean and His Brothers
The timeline below shows where the character Ti-Jean appears in Ti-Jean and His Brothers. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Prologue
...a bundle of sticks on his back and accompanied by a small dog. This is Ti-Jean, “the hunter,” whom God rewarded with a place on the moon because Ti-Jean beat the...
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Ti-Jean’s mother, whose husband passed away, was very poor, too old and weak to protect her...
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...and Gros Jean simply doesn’t have the brains. Unable to find any food for themselves, Ti-Jean’s family starves while, in Mother’s words, “the planter is eating from plates painted golden, forks...
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...their home, Gros Jean and Mi-Jean say, “Let two of our fingers form one crucifix!” Ti-Jean, on the other hand, silently steps outside. Their mother demands of Bolom: “Spirit that is...
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...oldest son outside, for the boys “must die in that order.” And he asks that Ti-Jean go back into the house. Ti-Jean does, but inside, a strange light shines through and...
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...has created, and he longs to be human. So he has sent a challenge to Ti-Jean and his brothers: any human who can make the Devil angry will “never more know...
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Act 3
The next day, Ti-Jean is comforting his mother, who tries to ask her youngest son not to leave. She...
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As he heads into the forest, Ti-Jean encounters Frog and greets the animal. Frog assumes Ti-Jean is making fun of him, as...
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The Old Man asks Ti-Jean whether his parents are alive, and Ti-Jean responds that he thinks nothing dies. “My brothers...
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Ti-Jean asks the Old Man what the fastest way to the Devil’s estate is, and the...
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The Devil assigns Ti-Jean the same task as his brothers: he is to catch and tie up a goat....
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The Devil, a bit vexed that Ti-Jean has “fixed” his goat, struggles to control his temper. Sensing this, Ti-Jean says, “It looks...
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As soon as the Devil has gone, Ti-Jean says to himself, “Count all of the canes, what a waste of time!” Immediately, he...
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As the Devil wallows in his misery, he sees Ti-Jean coming and puts on his Planter’s mask. Ti-Jean is also carrying a bottle. The Devil...
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Exhausted, the Devil wants to go home, and as he is leaving, Ti-Jean throws his arms around him, saying he is drunk and wants to know the way...
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As he reminisces, the Devil sees the plantation burning in the distance, and asks Ti-Jean what the fire is. Ti-Jean tells him that it’s the plantation, and he has set...
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