The Sky Is Gray

Octavia is James’s and Ty’s mother and either the sister or sister-in-law of Auntie. She works as a sharecropper and lives on a cotton plantation with her family. She was married, it seems, but her husband left the family some years before after entering the Army. It is also possible that he died in combat. Octavia is a strong matriarchal figure who, through her actions, teaches James about the realities of Jim Crow. She also coerces him into taking on the role of a man, which is underscored in her final command to him, which is also the story’s final sentence. 

Helena is the petite, old White woman who invites James and Octavia into her store, where she also has a residence. She is married to a man named Alnest, whom James and Octavia never see because he is on bed rest with a cold. They hear him speaking to them, however, from his room. Helena seems only to want to provide comfort and nourishment to James and Octavia. She also figures that they’ve come to town to see the dentist, Dr. Bassett, but were unsuccessful in getting a timely appointment. Helena intervenes on their behalf and gets James an earlier appointment.

Despite Helena’s apparent generosity, Octavia views her suspiciously. Their interaction, both during dinner and when Octavia buys the salt pork, reveals the underlying mistrust in relations between many Black and White women. This mistrust is rooted in White supremacy, which gave White women a degree of power over Black people, particularly over the Black women who usually worked in their homes. Octavia, who is unaccustomed to generosity from White people in the Jim Crow South, wonders if Helena has an ulterior motive. Additionally, to avoid any scent of obsequiousness, she refuses Helena’s attempt to give her extra salt pork. Helena is aware of Octavia’s suspicion and refusal to take handouts, which is why, before feeding them, she asks James to carry her trash bins to the front of her house, though they are actually empty. Helena is likely a decent person, but Octavia cannot know that. This air of suspicion clouds the space between them, illustrating how Jim Crow made it difficult for Black and White people to see each other clearly.

Auntie is James’s and Ty’s aunt. She lives with them and their mother, Octavia. Auntie intervenes when Octavia forces James to kill his pet cardinals for their supper—not to dissuade her from getting James to commit the act, but to compel her to explain to her son why he had to kill his tiny, beloved birds. Auntie also notices when James tries to downplay the pain from his tooth. She sends for Monsieur Bayonne who provides some initial treatment on the bad tooth.

Monsieur Bayonne is a family friend and local medicine man who is likely of Creole descent. He follows the Catholic religion and emphasizes that he knows nothing about being a Baptist, which, it is implied, is the religion of James and his family. Monsieur Bayonne’s presence is a reminder of the diversity within Black Louisianan communities. It is significant, too, that Bayonne’s surname is the same as that of the city to which James and his mother go for a dentist’s visit. This reminds the reader that Bayonne is possibly the descendant of the White people who founded the town. His connection to the Black people who work on the plantation is both a sign of his disinheritance and his cultural identity, though he has also inherited the customs of his oppressors. This is magnified through his assertion of his Catholic faith, as opposed to James’s Baptist upbringing, and his embrace of the traditions of West African witch doctors.

Ty is James’s younger brother who resents how James’s dental problem places requirements on him, such as getting up early, though it isn’t his day to go to the dentist. Ty is also James’s best friend. James identifies his brother as his buddy, and they go on hunting trips together. The boys’ closeness is due not only to their being brothers, but also to the few opportunities they have to interact with other children.