Native Son | Teaching Key Figures

Character Descriptions

This section provides a short description of all the major characters in the book. This can be printed out as a study guide for students, used as a "key" for leading a class discussion, or you can jump to the quiz/homework section to find worksheets that incorporate these descriptions into a variety of question formats.

Characters

Mary Dalton - This character is the only child of a wealthy white family.

Mr. Dalton - This character is a hypocritical white slum lord.

Mrs. Dalton - This character is a philanthropist who is blind in more ways than sight.

Jan Erlone - This character is the Marxist boyfriend of a character who dies.

Gus - This character is a gang member with questionable motives.

Jack Harding - This character is a good friend to the main character.

Mr. Boris Max - This character is a communist who understands the main character.