The Emperor Jones characters

Appears from the start

An American former railway porter and escaped prisoner who has made himself emperor of a Caribbean island. Intelligent, theatrical, and ruthless, he has enriched himself through taxes while controlling the islanders with fear and a story that only a silver bullet can kill him. He keeps such a bullet for himself and has prepared an escape route through the forest.

Appears from the start

A white English trader who conducts business on the island and speaks to Jones with a mixture of contempt, familiarity, and fascination. He brings news that the people have deserted the town and that an uprising has begun.

Appears from the start

The islander leading the revolt against Jones. Before Jones enters the forest, Smithers reports that Lem has gathered armed followers and is directing the pursuit.

First appears in chapter 4

A man from Jones's American past who appears in the forest as a silent apparition, crouched over a game of dice. Jones recognizes him as the man he killed during a gambling dispute.

First appears in chapter 5

An apparition of the prison official Jones attacked during his escape from a chain gang. He appears with the guards who oversee the spectral prisoners laboring in the forest.

First appears in chapter 6

A silent figure in the forest vision of an American slave market. He displays Jones to unseen buyers and calls for bids, placing Jones within an ordeal inherited from generations before his own life.

First appears in chapter 6

A wealthy-looking buyer in Jones's slave-auction vision. He examines Jones as property and bids for him while the surrounding crowd remains unseen.

First appears in chapter 7

A ritual figure who emerges in Jones's deepest forest vision. His dance summons a vast crocodile-shaped presence and casts Jones as an offering, confronting the fugitive with a terror older than his personal memories.