Ti-Jean and His Brothers tells the story of an impoverished Caribbean mother and her three sons, Gros Jean, Mi-Jean, and Ti-Jean. The family is confronted by the Devil, who challenges each son to provoke a feeling of strong emotion. If any son is able to make the Devil angry, he will give them wealth and power. If, however, the Devil makes them angry instead, he gets to eat them.
Both Gros Jean and Mi-Jean are easily defeated. The Devil takes the form of a plantation owner, and forces them to do impossible tasks. Gros Jean is very strong and patient, but his patience cannot withstand the Devil’s racist pestering. Mi-Jean is an intellectual, but he breaks beneath the Devil’s condescension. Finally, Ti-Jean leaves his mother alone to meet the Devil. Unlike his brothers, he defies the Devil’s orders, and eventually burns the plantation to the ground. Shocked, the Devil gets angry, and Ti-Jean wins the bet.
Still, the Devil, who never plays fair, tries to outwit him. He shows Ti-Jean his dying mother, but Ti-Jean is able to see the beauty even in this most tragic death. The moment brings the Devil to tears, and he finally admits defeat, because he has felt the truly human emotion of sadness.
