58 pages • 1 hour read
Tananarive DueThe Reformatory: A Novel
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2023A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Character Analysis
Robert “Robbie” Stephens, Jr.
Robbie is one of two protagonists in The Reformatory. He is a 12-year-old Black boy who lives in his family’s ancestral cabin with his older sister, Gloria. His father, Robert, lives in Chicago as a fugitive from the authorities in Gracetown, Florida. His mother, on the other hand, suffered a terminal illness and is dead. Due uses Robbie’s relationship with his mother to introduce his ability to see ghosts, also referred to in the novel as “haints.” Robbie wants to see his mother again but can catch only brief glimpses of her.
Robbie is a reserved boy with a short temper. Robbie protects himself from bullying by keeping to himself during his incarceration. He nevertheless is sensitive to the aggression of his peers and is likewise quick to resent those who betray or trick him, like Blue. His temper, which causes him to act out against Lyle McCormack, results in his incarceration.
Robbie’s ability to see haints makes him valuable to the authorities at the Reformatory. He gives in to Haddock’s request to spot haints when the warden promises him an early release. However, this desire for freedom creates a conflict within Robbie since Blue threatens to trap Robbie’s mother if he continues to work for Haddock.
Robbie is a dynamic character who learns the power of solidarity through his relationships with Redbone and Blue. Robbie initially desires his own freedom but becomes motivated to carry out Blue’s plans when Haddock has Redbone killed. If Redbone becomes a haint, Robbie fears that Haddock will try to trap him too. Redbone thus assures Robbie that he must trust in Blue’s plans to free the haints and secure his freedom. This tension, as well as the character development that results from it, is central to developing The Struggle to Resolve the Past and Preserve the Present as a theme.
Gloria Stephens
Gloria is the second protagonist of The Reformatory. Her character role is introduced in Chapter 2 when the narrative follows her character’s perspective. Her character arc is marked by her journey to liberate Robbie from incarceration. Nested within this character arc, however, is her personal struggle with faith and the hope for a brighter tomorrow.
After the death of her mother and the departure of her father, Gloria looks after herself and her brother, Robbie. She depends on her salary at work and the money that her father sends from Chicago. Gloria’s decision to quit school was contrary to her dying mother’s wishes, but it frees her to work for Miss Anne Powell, the wealthy daughter of the late Gracetown councilman. Gloria typically endures the Powells’ racist comments, but because she grew up with Anne, Gloria becomes frustrated when Anne fails to speak up against her relatives.
Throughout her part of the narrative, Gloria learns the importance of Turning to Community in Times of Trouble. She exhausts every possible avenue to liberate Robbie, consulting lawyers recommended by Anne and her father. The failure of each ally to aid Gloria’s journey exacerbates her doubt and hopelessness. Questioning Miz Lottie when she expresses her own sense of faith, Gloria wonders how it is possible to remain optimistic in such a bleak world. Gloria’s precognitive ability, which enables her to see how real-life figures such as Ruby McCollum and Harry T. Moore die by lynching, deepens her pessimism.
When it becomes clear that the law is stacked against Gloria, she resolves to take matters into her own hands by breaking Robbie out of the Reformatory. Gloria restores her faith by working with her extended family in Lower Spruce to liberate Robbie. Gloria is dynamic because she learns that any victory, no matter how small, inspires hope for further victories. She returns to school and participates in civil rights protests after the narrative ends.
Warden Fenton J. Haddock
Warden Haddock is the central antagonist of The Reformatory. He is the selfish and sadistic administrator of Gracetown School for Boys, known as the Reformatory, which he has managed for several decades. He believes that the sacred nature of his mission excuses his actions: A line of scripture above his office door reminds him and his prisoners that his job is to “chasten” boys until they become better people. Though his formal title is superintendent, he is typically referred to as the warden to remind the other characters that the Reformatory is not a school but a prison.
Haddock hints at his sadism when, during his first meeting with Robbie, he suggests that he killed his baby sister. His sadism makes him prone to a wide range of abuses in office. He devises several methods of punishment to keep the boys in line, including isolation and corporal punishment. These punishments are given names that disguise their true nature while also hinting at Haddock’s administrative perversions. For instance, boys are typically whipped in a structure called the Funhouse. Other boys are isolated in a compressed cell called the Box.
These details only scratch the surface of Haddock’s abuse, as it is revealed that Haddock also raped and murdered a number of boys at the Reformatory. He keeps photographic evidence to remind himself of the joy he takes in hurting young boys, and he is tempted to confess details to Robbie to take pleasure in his terror. Haddock’s awareness that the photos threaten his career forms the basis of his antagonistic dynamic with Blue. As a static character, Haddock embodies The Racism of the American Criminal Justice System. At the end of the novel, Robbie helps Blue defeat Haddock, ensuring that no one else will suffer his abuses again.
