John
John is the protagonist of Hurston’s novel and the oldest son of Amy Crittenden, a former slave on the plantation of Alf Pearson. He has a good relationship with his mother but doesn’t get along with his stepfather at all. John is fascinated by machines such as trains and cars. Even at a younger age, he finds himself surrounded by girls whom he cannot resist. He has the gift to preach beautifully from the heart but is easily seduced by women and cannot control his sexual drives. Indeed, he gives passionate sermons but doesn’t manage to live by the rules he talks about in church. Although he has good intentions, he almost always goes down the wrong way and destroys his own future. Most of the time, John has to be pushed either by his wives Lucy and Sally or by his mentor Alf Pearson in order to move forward in life and to aspire to become a better man.
Lucy
At the beginning of the novel, Lucy is described as a girl with sparkling black eyes and petite figure, the only one from the group of students who doesn’t look like a woman yet. Despite the fact that she seems childish, she's the leader of the group and the most praised girl in school and in church. She is intelligent, talented, and confident. In order to be with John, she has to break off her relationship with her family. She loves John deeply, supports him whenever he’s in trouble and always advices him wisely. She truly suffers when she discovers his affairs and passes away without having him on her side.
Sally
Sally is the second woman in John’s life who has a big impact on it. She finds him a job and supports him when he decides to start preaching again. As she’s quite affluent, she provides for him financially and buys him expensive gifts. He never leaves her side up until the day before he dies, so she parts with him with the conviction that he had been faithful to her the whole time.
Alf Pearson
Alf Pearson is presented as a noble white slaveowner – even after the end of Slavery, he takes good care of his servants and pays them accordingly. That’s why John’s mother Amy encourages him to seek for a position at Pearson’s plantation. He doesn’t only provide John with a job, clean clothes, and education but also gives him moral advice and tries to show him the right way.
Hattie Tyson
Hattie is John’s second wife who he meets in Sanford. She tries to win his affection by casting hoodoo spells on him and his wife Lucy. During their marriage, the partners constantly fight, mostly because John always compares Hattie to Lucy and Hattie’s jealousy grows day by day. When they separate, she decides to sue him and destroys his image as a successful pastor by using cheap tricks in court.
Hambo
Hambo is one of the few friends John makes in Sanford. He always speaks honestly to John, even when the truth is hard to bare, and defends him in front of the discontent inhabitants of the town. Hambo is also the friend John visits the day before he dies.
Amy Crittenden
Amy Crittenden is John’s mother who loves him very much. She always tries to establish a connection between him and his stepfather Ned, but she fails as Ned cannot get past the fact that John is a mulatto. Amy is the one who advises John to seek a job at Alf Pearson’s and sincerely cares about his future as well as about the future of her other children.
Ned Crittenden
Ned Crittenden is Amy’s husband and John’s stepfather. He’s very violent and doesn’t hesitate to pick a fight or even hit his wife from time to time. He truly despises the fact that John was born on the plantation of a white slave owner and even as John returns home to help out his family, he manages to push him away.
