Robert Jones

Jones is the book's central character, a dark-skinned black man living in Los Angeles, California during World War II. His age is never specifically defined, but based on his descriptions of himself, his behavior (particularly his sexuality), his position at his job, and the fact that he isn't yet married, it would be reasonable to conclude that he is somewhere in his early to mid thirties. He is ambitious, proud of his recent appointment to the position of leaderman (supervisor) on his work crew. He is sexual and sensual, and emotionally volatile, with his moment-by-moment reactions to the situations in which he finds himself shifting rapidly from, for example, anger to frustration to fear to resignation to flirtatiousness.

The central point to note about Jones's character is that he feels trapped - by his feelings and desires for Alice and the life she represents, by the racist...