Jeff

The black man Brutus Jones killed over a crap game in the United States before the action of the play began. Appearing in Scene III as one of Jones' s hallucinations, Jeff is brown rather than black-skinned, thin, middle-aged, and dressed in a Pullman porter's uniform. In Jones's hallucination, Jeff tosses the dice like a robot.

Brutus Jones

The main character in The Emperor Jones, Brutus Jones is a tall and powerfully built American negro man of middle age. Formerly a Pullman (train) car porter in the United States, Jones comes to the West Indian island where the play takes place and becomes "emperor" after convincing the natives that he has magical powers. Before coming to the island, Jones had escaped from an American prison, where he was being confined for killing a man over a crap game. Jones exudes a strength and confidence that commands fear and...