Ti-Jean
Ti-Jean is the play’s protagonist. The youngest of the three brothers, he is neither strong nor obviously intelligent, and he lacks ambition. He is therefore hardly an obvious choice for a hero. However, his humility enables him to listen to his mother’s advice, and his lack of ambition, which empowers him to simply not work, frees him from the tyranny of the planter. His strength is in his stubbornness, his ability to refuse, and his capacity to extend respect based on who deserves respect, rather than who is powerful. He portrays himself as a believer in God, although his God seems a little different from the immortal, all-powerful Christian God. He defeats the Devil by making him feel anger, laughter, and sadness.
Gros Jean
Gros Jean is the oldest brother in the Jean family. His defining trait is his physical strength. He uses that strength as the basis for his patience, which he hopes will allow him to outlast the Devil. His strength also makes him proud, and thus unwilling to listen to the advice of anyone he perceives as weaker than himself, like his mother or the animals. He is eaten by the Devil for losing the bet.
Mi-Jean
Mi-Jean is the middle brother in the Jean family. His defining trait is his intelligence. Rather than general cleverness, Mi-Jean’s intelligence takes the form of an obsession with books. His complete reliance on theoretical knowledge makes him unable to do basic practical tasks like fishing. He plans to outwit the Devil by staying quiet, because he knows his wisdom is his greatest weakness, but he ultimately gives in and gets angry at the Devil’s condescension and unwillingness to listen to his arguments. He is eaten by the Devil for losing the bet.
The animals
Cricket, frog, bird, and firefly are important to both the plot of Ti-Jean and His Brothers, and the play’s framing device. The play opens with the animals discussing the story of Ti-Jean and the moon, and their telling of this story flows into the performance of the story on stage. In the story, each animal tries to help the brothers, but Gros Jean and Mi-Jean reject them. Only Ti-Jean treats them with respect, and listens to their advice to avoid the old man. In return, they save him: the bird loosens the sticks on the old man’s back, distracting him enough to reveal his identity as the Devil.
Mother
Mother is a poor old woman who gradually loses all three of her sons over the course of the play. With each son, she pleads with them to be safe, but all but Ti-Jean ignore her advice. Like Ti-Jean, she is religious, but she also believes in the power of death over all things. The prologue suggests that she may have experienced a miscarriage. Her death at the end of the play provokes Ti-Jean’s song, which brings the Devil to tears.
The Bolom
The Bolom is an associate of the Devil who resembles a giant fetus. He delivers the Devil’s challenge at the beginning of the play, and expresses his resentment towards the mother because he died before he could be born, something he blames his mother for. Although he always appears with the Devil and the other demons, he is not one of them. At the end of the play he takes Ti-Jean’s side to plead for his own life, and the Devil eventually agrees. He is born at the end of the play, and becomes Ti-Jean’s youngest brother.
Devil
The Devil is a complicated figure in the play. He is the principal antagonist. His challenge—to provoke anger in him, or be eaten—leads to the deaths of Gros Jean and Mi-Jean. When Ti-Jean defeats him, the Devil repeatedly tries to weasel out of his side of the deal. Yet he is also somewhat sympathetic. He is lonely after having deserted heaven, and immortality makes his life meaningless, because he can never feel anything, and nothing really matters. He delivers the challenge because he is desperate to feel human emotions, and the sadness Ti-Jean provokes in him is both a defeat and a gift.
Planter
The planter is one of the guises of the Devil. He is a white plantation owner, who engages in casual racism directed at all three brothers. His power is economic: there are no financial opportunities available to the brothers which he does not control.
Old Man
The old man is the other guise of the Devil. He is a personification of mortal wisdom, which makes him pessimistic, because all he has to rely on is the suffering of human life. He gives a lot of bad advice, and encourages the brothers towards the planter.
