Brutus Jones

E934464

Brutus Jones is the ambitious, self-made African American protagonist of Eugene O’Neill’s play "The Emperor Jones," whose rise and fall as a tyrannical ruler in a Caribbean nation explores themes of power, race, and psychological torment.

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Statements (45)

Predicate Object
instanceOf fictional character
theatrical character
appearsInGenre American drama
expressionist drama
associatedWorkForm one-act play
authorNationality American
characterTrait ambitious
self-made
tyrannical
countryOfWorkPremiere United States NERFINISHED
createdBy Eugene O’Neill NERFINISHED
downfallCause loss of psychological control
rebellion of island natives
dramaticFunction focus of expressionist hallucination sequences
ethnicity African American
firstAppearanceDate 1920
firstAppearanceInWork The Emperor Jones NERFINISHED
gender male
hasAdaptation The Emperor Jones (film) NERFINISHED
languageOfWork English
mediumOfOrigin stage play
methodOfGainingPower claiming invulnerability to bullets
exploiting local superstition
narrativeRole tragic hero
nationalityInBackstory American
notableTheme colonialism
fear
guilt
power
race
occupation emperor
ruler
portrayedBy Charles S. Gilpin NERFINISHED
Paul Robeson NERFINISHED
powerThemeEmbodied corrupting influence of absolute power
protagonistOf The Emperor Jones NERFINISHED
psychologicalThemeEmbodied psychological torment
raceThemeEmbodied race and power in the United States
riseFromBackground Pullman porter
convict
settingOfRule Caribbean island nation
speechStyle vernacular African American English
stageTradition American theatre
symbolizes internalized racism and fear
the dangers of autocracy

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

The Emperor Jones character Brutus Jones
The Emperor Jones mainCharacter Brutus Jones
The Emperor Jones protagonist Brutus Jones