Washington Black

Titch is the younger brother of Erasmus, the owner of Faith Plantation. Titch is a friendly and inquisitive young man who, like his father, has devoted his life to the pursuit of scientific studies. While Titch is a member of the aristocratic upper class, he treats Wash with kindness. Unlike Erasmus, Titch finds slavery distasteful. Although Titch has good intentions, he is unable to overcome his prejudices and views slaves as people in need of saving rather than as fellow human beings.

While Titch is at first presented as eccentric but endearing, over the course of the novel it becomes clear that although Titch has a kind heart, he is self-centered and solipsistic. Titch abandons Wash, his family members, and his acquaintances to pursue his own whims and desires, without regard for how his actions might affect them. While Titch is often animated by humanitarian and scientific passions that come from a good place, he is seldom able to follow through with his ideas or face the reality of failure. By the conclusion of the novel, Titch is a shell of his former self, still clinging to his absurd scientific pursuits and haphazard way of life.

Big Kit, also sometimes known at Catherine or Nawi, is a powerful and intimidating slave on Faith Plantation who takes Wash under her wing when he is a small child. Big Kit is fiercely protective, but is also often angry and careless, even once breaking Wash’s ribs in anger after he chastises her. Big Kit was born in the African kingdom of Dahomey, but was captured, enslaved, and brought to the West Indies to work on the plantation. Big Kit raises Wash as best as she is able, making sure that he has enough to eat and is protected from the violence of the overseers and other slaves. Wash later learns that she dies on the plantation before slavery ended, and that she was his real biological mother.

Erasmus is the owner of Faith Plantation, having inherited the property after the death of his uncle. He is a cruel, uncompromising man, who sees enslaved people as less than human. He is prone to fits of rage and is capable of casual violence toward his slaves, striking and beating them whenever he pleases. Erasmus enacts an even harsher stewardship of the plantation, encouraging rough treatment of slaves including beatings, torture, and murder. He is a dour and unpleasant character, who does not get along even with close family members. Erasmus sees it as his duty to profitably manage his family’s estates so that they remain financially secure. He symbolizes the wealthy, white slaveholding class who have built their fortunes upon the backs of enslaved people.

Philip is Titch and Erasmus’ cousin, another member of the upper class. He is fragile, melancholy, and gluttonous, and spends his days eating luxurious meals and entertaining himself with games and hunting for sport. As a child, Philip was frequently bullied by his cousins and remains a nervous and unhappy person. Although Philip is dismissive of and uneasy around slaves, the rough treatment of slaves on the plantation disturbs him. After traveling to Faith Plantation to inform the brothers of Mr. Wilde’s death, Philip commits suicide, implicating Wash in the process. Philip represents idle wealth and carelessness.

Willard is a resident of the West Indies and an accountant turned bounty hunter. While Willard is intelligent and well educated, he bends all his natural talents toward needless violence and cruelty. He subscribes to a twisted view of the world, in which the natural order of things requires white people ruling over enslaved black people. Erasmus hires Willard to pursue Wash and Titch after they make their escape from Faith Plantation, and Willard tracks them all over the globe. He finally discovers Wash years later. Willard is later hanged for murdering an innocent freed man. Willard exemplifies the ways in which the institution of slavery twists average and even intelligent people, turning them into monstrous creatures.

Mr. Wilde is Titch and Erasmus’ father, an esteemed scientist who is conducting research in the Arctic. Mr. Wilde is a difficult and inscrutable man who is unable to properly express affection for his wife or sons, and he finds it hard to converse with others without rubbing them the wrong way. Although Titch attempts to impress him, Mr. Wilde never gives Titch the satisfaction of his approval. While Mr. Wilde appreciates Wash’s intellect and skill with drawing, he is nevertheless unable to escape his prejudices, and sees Wash as a strange aberration. Mr. Wilde’s closest companion is his assistant, Peter, with whom he has an intimate relationship. Mr. Wilde represents both the courage and daring of men of science, as well as the tragically limited views of even those brilliant men.