Southern Connecticut State University
English Department
Contemporary African-American Literature

A Look At The Main Characters
In Walter Mosley′s RL′s Dream

2002

Table of contents

0. Introduction ...4

1. Walter Mosley - the author ...4

2. A short synopsis of RL′s Dream ...5

3. The narration and the blues ...5

4. Characters in RL′s Dream ...6
4.1. Kiki Waters ...7
4.2. Atwater ′Soupspoon′ Wise ...9
4.3. Mavis Spivey ...11
4.4. Randy ...12
4.5. Chevette ...12

5. Conclusion ...13

0. Introduction

The aim of this paper is to encourage reflection on Walter Mosley′s RL′s Dream. In the first part, I will briefly present the author of the novel because I believe that it is crucial to know the background of an author to fully understand his work. Walter Mosley, himself, is a person of mixed parentage - just as the character of Randy. In his early childhood Mosley might have struggled to find his identity - a topic, which is also very present in RL′s Dream.
I will then give a short synopsis of the novel in the second section before outlining the particular style of narration Mosley uses and its relation to the blues.
The main part of this paper deals with characterization. I will take a closer look at Kiki Waters, Atwater ′Soupspoon′ Wise, Mavis Spivey, Randy and Chevette. All of the major characters suffer from some kind of problem that has mainly to do with their experiences of the past. I will shed light on the characters and point out their particular problems. I will analyze the causes and attempt to interpret the character′s behavior.

1. Walter Mosley - the author

Walter Mosley was born on January 12, 1952, in Los Angeles, California. His father LeRoy, a school custodian, was an African-American from the deep South, and his mother Ella, a school personnel clerk, was a white woman of Jewish descent whose family emigrated from Eastern Europe. This unique African-American/ Jewish heritage made prejudice a major topic in the household. An only child, Mosley grew up hearing about the woes of life for African-Americans in the South, as well as the horrors of anti-Semitism across the Atlantic.
After earning a bachelor′s degree at Johnson State College in 1977, Mosley drifted for a number of years in various jobs, even working as a potter and caterer. He and his white Jewish girlfriend Joy Kellman, a dancer and choreographer, moved to New York City in 1982 and were married in 1987. Mosley settled down into a career as a computer programmer in the 1980s, but his work left him unfulfilled. He became a full-time writer in 1986.
Mosley is the author of fourteen books and several other publications and his work has been translated into twenty-one languages. (The German title of Mosley′s novel RL′s Dream is "Mississippi Blues" - a rather good translation since the German-speaking audience might not be familiar with the abbreviation RL and Robert Johnson′s music). Walter Mosley is best known for the "Easy Rawlins" mystery series, beginning with Devil in a Blue Dress in 1990. However, Mosley considers himself not so much a mystery writer but a novelist whose work includes mysteries. In 1995, W.W. Norton published Mosley′s blues novel RL′s Dream to critical acclaim. It was a finalist for the NAACP Award in Fiction and won the 1996 Black Caucus of the American Library Association′s Literary Award.

2. A short synopsis of RL′s Dream

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