Sugar

Billy is the youngest son of Mister and Missus Wills, who own River Road. He is determined to befriend Sugar, even though “[she has] always been told to keep away from Billy” (19). Like Sugar, he loves adventures and longs to make a new life away from the plantation. He is not used to getting in trouble for breaking the rules like Sugar is, and it takes a while for him to gain her level of courage.

As his friendship with Sugar grows, Billy must face his own racism and learn about the injustices that Sugar and the other Black workers have faced at the hands of his family and other white people, such as Overseer Tom. When he witnesses Tom’s cruelty, and is subsequently given the chance to take over for him, Billy makes a concentrated effort to do better than he did. He works alongside the workers, ignoring his mother’s pleas to stop. Sugar admires his tenacity and is pleased to “know Billy won’t just stand, walk, and see” (205). Billy’s willingness to advocate for both his friendship with Sugar and better working conditions are two small steps toward equality. Like Sugar and Beau, Billy represents the next generation working to make the world a better place.

Beau is the youngest of the Chinese men who come to work at River Road. When the men arrive and Sugar walks the line to look at each of them, Beau is the first to make a connection with her. Like Sugar and Billy, Beau represents the next generation working toward equality. He is dignified and patient, sharing many qualities with Master Liu that make him a leader in his own right.

Beau shares his culture with Sugar and Billy through stories and gifts. He invites Sugar and the others to celebrate Chinese New Year, where they make dumplings together. After harvest, he shares his Chinese lanterns with the group, and gives a large dragon to Sugar and Billy. Beau also shares his kite with the children, and the day they spend flying it is one of the most serene moments in the novel, as it brings everyone on the plantation together. Lastly, he gives Sugar a map that helps her convince the Beales to move north.

Throughout the novel, Beau, whose own sister died at age five, becomes an older brother figure to Sugar. He is quick to protect her from harm, even if it means getting hurt instead. Twice, he is injured by Tom while shielding Sugar. Beau’s calm, soothing nature is a great match for Sugar’s fiery spirit. Like Mister Beale and Master Liu, he is a gifted storyteller who teaches Sugar and Billy many lessons that ultimately lead to them learning to share and respect each other more.

Mister Beale is an elderly Black man and surrogate grandfather to Sugar. He was captured in Africa as a child, but still remembers his days there as a spunky prankster, much like Sugar is in the novel. He is a kind man who treats Sugar as if she were his own, and is quick to encourage her childlike wonder. Sugar “loves Mister Beale. He tells [her] stories even though Missus Beale thinks they’re useless” (10), for these stories bring her joy and feed her imagination. Mister Beale is the leader of the River Road workers, and interacts the most with Mister Wills and Master Liu.

Though he is strong of character, Mister Beale is not as strong physically. He is elderly, and his eyes are covered with cataracts that will one day cause him to be completely blind. He is still able to work, but is much slower than the younger Chinese men. Mister Beale faces his own physical limitations when Tom raises his whip on Sugar, and he can’t move fast enough to stop him. Though Beau ends up taking the brunt of the blow, Mister Beale still regrets being unable to protect Sugar.

Mister Beale is the father of three children, two of whom are still living and moved up north. The youngest son is buried in the same cemetery as Sugar’s Ma. He desperately wants to be with his living children, but is afraid of leaving the plantation due to this life being the only one he’s known. However, at the end of the novel, Sugar helps Mister Beale find his courage.

Missus Beale is an older Black woman who looks after Sugar with her husband. Of the two, Missus Beale is by far the harsher disciplinarian. She frequently scolds Sugar for daydreaming or playing too much. Although she is usually irritable, there are times when Sugar brings out her softer side. When Sugar is upset about her friend Lizzie leaving, Missus Beale does her best to comfort her. She even “wraps her arms around [Sugar] and nearly smothers her" (60). Missus Beale quickly returns to her irritable self, but Sugar is pleased because this was the first time she ever hugged her.

Missus Beale is a gifted cook. When Sugar “tricks” her into taking food to the Chinese workers’ side of the yard, the older knows exactly what the girl is doing. Once again, she isn’t as strait-laced as she appears and grows more willing to ease up on rules and standards as the novel progresses. For Missus Beale, accepting change means accepting that life can have more joy than she initially thought.

Mister Wills is the owner of River Road plantation and was the enslaver of the Black workers prior to Emancipation. He does none of the hard labor required to keep the plantation going, but instead “just walks and watched everyone work” (7). He is having a difficult time adjusting to life after the Civil War, but unlike Overseer Tom, he is willing to admit that change is happening. As most of his workers leave to go north, Mister Wills quickly learns that River Road can only survive with willing workers.

Mister Wills does not approve of Billy and Sugar’s friendship at first. He lives by the philosophy of “‘Each to their own place’ […] God didn’t intend for the races to mix’” (25) and is stern about reinforcing it. It isn’t until Billy is wracked by a fever and Sugar keeps him calm that Mister Wills realizes there is true depth and love to their friendship. Tom’s actions also open his eyes. Mister Willis is appalled when Tom tries to whip Sugar and burns down the mill. It takes seeing the positive changes that come with the children unifying everyone at River Road, and the negative consequences of Tom’s hatred, for Mister Wills to grow as a person.

Billy’s mother, Missus Wills, is the lady of the house at River Road plantation. She is introduced as an overprotective mother who is very much set in her ways regarding her son being friends with Sugar. When Sugar darts into Billy’s room when he is sick, her first instinct is to tell the girl to leave at once. Missus Wills is confused and upset by Sugar’s sudden appearance, but too worried about her son to get rid of her. As she observes Sugar at Billy’s bedside, she realizes that it might be worth breaking the rules if it brings her son comfort. Once Missus Wills sees just how close Billy and Sugar are, she lets the girl stay, and soon grows fond of her.

Jewell Parker Rhodes uses a clever literary device to demonstrate how change unravels Missus Wills’ tidy way of life. When Sugar sees her in Billy’s bedroom, Missus Wills is described as looking “crazed, her hair falling out of her cap, onto her shoulders” (173). Then, when Billy cuts cane, Missus Wills objects. She shouts at Billy to stop, “her shawl falling to the ground, her hair escaping its pins” (195); when Billy refuses, she “stands, sweating unladylike in the sun” (195). Each of these descriptions serves to illustrate Missus Wills’s old way of life literally falling apart. By contrast, she is happiest on kite day, when everyone watches Billy and Sugar fly Beau’s kite together. She slowly starts to be more generous with food, time, and everyday items that are luxuries for Sugar, like a pillow and blanket when she is recovering from the mill fire. Missus Wills starts the novel as a mess, but by the end, is kinder and more put together.

Master Liu is the wise elder of the Chinese men. He is highly respected by his people, and his kindness and strength quickly earn the respect of everyone at River Road. From the moment Sugar lays eyes on Master Liu, she can tell “he must be their leader. He’s dignified, not as old as Mister Beale” (102). He is the one who brought each of the men from China, where they were starving and living on the street. The men acknowledge that he is the one who saved them, and so they were willing to trust him when he led them to America.

Though there is a significant age gap between them, Master Liu and Mister Beale are similar. Master Liu is a great listener and, like Mister Beale, loves to tell animal stories. He is always ready to turn any moment into a teaching opportunity and loves to share his culture with Sugar and the others. He grows to care for Sugar, and she considers him part of her family.

Tom is the overseer of River Road plantation, where he has worked for the last 20 years. He is openly racist and hateful toward both the Black and Chinese workers and refuses to change. Tom believes that since Emancipation, Mister Wills has gone soft in his running of the plantation. He believes providing better work conditions will make the workers lazy, instead of realizing the truth: Like Mister Wills said, change is coming, and he needs workers who are willing to work above all.

There are hints of Tom’s violent nature early on, but as Sugar and the other workers gain better treatment, he becomes obsessed with punishing them. His first violation is when he tries to whip Sugar after she places her finger trap on him. The second time is when he hits Beau with a rifle, and threatens to shoot him. His final act of violence costs the Wills family their plantation. When Sugar sees Tom flee the mill after setting it on fire, she recounts that “Mister Tom looks awful. Angry, scared. Hurt. Evil, like the devil, all mixed up” (243). Tom’s hatred has destroyed him, and he has started destroying others because of it.