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

Seminar paper from the year 2002 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: A- (USA = 1), Southern Connecticut State University (English Department), course: Contemporary African-American Literature, language: English, abstract: 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.