Spunk (Characters)

Characters

Spunk Banks

The opening words of the story, “A giant of a brown-skinned man,” refer to the title character, Spunk Banks, a saw-mill worker with flashy clothes, a guitar, and a way with women. His size is matched by his self-confidence. Not only is he unafraid of the most dangerous jobs at the saw-mill — jobs that have killed other men — he has no hesitation about carrying on with another man’s wife right in front of the man and all his friends. The other men treat Spunk with a mixture of respect and fear, and talk admiringly and grudgingly of his courage and quick temper, and of the .45 pistol he carries. Even when he calmly kills Joe, they do not dare challenge him. When Spunk decides to marry Lena, whom he has made a widow, Spunk gets his first taste of fear when confronted with a black bobcat, which he believes is Joe’s spirit.

Joe Kanty

Joe Kanty is the opposite of Spunk Banks in every way. He is a small, round-shouldered man with ill-fitting clothes and a nervous disposition. When his wife, Lena, takes up with Spunk, Joe is unable to stand up for himself against Spunk’s size and confidence. Even when he meets Spunk and Lena together, he will not or can not fight. Spunk humiliates Joe, and Lena is disgusted with her husband. Finally, Joe gathers his courage and goes after Spunk with a razor. Spunk shoots him dead. Most critics argue that the appearance of a black bobcat near the end of the story represents Joe’s return from beyond the grave as he seeks revenge on Spunk.

Lena Kanty

Lena is a small, pretty woman who is married to Joe but in love with Spunk. She has been publicly carrying on with Spunk, seeming not to care about her husband’s feelings. When Joe refuses to fight for her, she rejects him totally and walks away with Spunk, but not before asserting her power in a small way by refusing to accept a new house from her lover. She shows some fear when Spunk kills Joe, but she welcomes Spunk when his trial is over. Although she weeps loudly when Spunk is killed, the other women in the village know that she will get over him as quickly as she forgot about Joe.

’lige

See Elijah Mosley

Elijah Mosley

Among the men lounging in the store when Spunk and Lena walk by is Elijah Mosley, whom his friends call ‘Lige. He and the other men function as a kind of narrator, gossiping about what has happened at the mill, or on the street, or in someone’s bed. When Joe enters the store, it is ‘Lige who goads him with the truth about Lena’s infidelity, and after Joe leaves ‘Lige tells everyone else about the earlier encounter between Joe and Spunk. He is the first to know that Spunk and Lena plan to marry, and the first to know about the bobcat. Though his role in the action is small, Elijah reports and comments on the action, and he is the most admiring of all the witnesses. His being first with every detail is a way of vicariously living the exciting life Spunk lives.

Walter Thomas

Elijah Mosley’s constant companion in gossip sessions at the store is Walter Thomas, and the dialogue between the two of them makes up most of the story. Walter is always interested in Elijah’s news, and is always willing to give opinions about Joe and Spunk and Lena, but he has more reservations about Spunk, and more admiration for Joe, than Elijah has.

Media Adaptations

• In 1990, playwright George C. Wolfe produced Spunk, a musical stage adaptation of three of Hurston’s short stories. Although the title “Spunk” has come to be associated with the liveliness of Hurston’s fiction, the story “Spunk” is not included in the program.