The Ideology of Labor
“Labor” isn’t just work; it's a specific way of thinking about what you do all day. For the planter, time is only valuable if it is used to generate more wealth. Even though Gros Jean and Mi-Jean live on the other side of the rich-poor economic divide, they think the same way as the planter. However, Ti-Jean recognizes that the purpose of life is to live, not to work. Because he recognizes this, he is able to resist the planter by refusing to think like a laborer.
Economic Power and White Supremacy
The planter represents the power of the white colonizer class in the Caribbean. These people converted the land into plantations and forced enslaved Africans to farm sugar and other cash crops. The planter’s racist attitude towards the three brothers facilitates his economic domination, which relies on converting human beings into machines for work.
Mortality
One of the most important divisions in Ti-Jean and His Brothers is between mortal and immortal persons. The animals and the Jean family are all mortal, while the Devil, the demons, and the Bolom are immortal. As Mother and the old man emphasize, mortality can make people bitter, because by the end of our lives, we realize that everything good eventually dies. Yet mortality is also what gives life its meaning. For the Devil, the eternity of his life makes it impossible for him to feel anything. Ultimately, the Bolom decides that despite the suffering of mortal life, it is worth it to be able to feel.
Christianity
Ti-Jean and his mother are both very religious, praying frequently and relying on blessings from God. At the same time, they are also extremely pessimistic. Mother has lived a life of suffering, and she believes that God has done little to make her life better. In a play where mortality is a primary justification for life, the Christian idea that Christ saved mankind from death doesn’t make a lot of sense. Instead, Ti-Jean says that Jesus died, and this in and of itself was a victory for a divine being. In this context, the Christianity in the play doesn’t redeem life’s suffering by offering a heavenly afterlife. Instead, it is part of the beauty of the world, something that makes life more than suffering.
Emotion
The Devil’s challenge, which hinges on whether or not the brothers can make him feel a strong emotion, emphasizes the importance of feelings in the play’s philosophy of life. Frequently, emotions are dangerous for the human characters; for Gros Jean and Mi-Jean, anger dooms them. Conversely, Ti-Jean’s capacity to go with the flow and remain calm protects him from the Devil. Yet emotion is also extremely valuable: the third act makes clear that the Devil didn’t choose a random challenge, but rather really wants to feel something, which would make his endless existence less dull. Ultimately, Ti-Jean’s grief at his mother’s death is what finally allows him to win the challenge, because it moves the Devil to tears. This suggests that while staying calm might be a useful skill, being able to feel strong emotions is what is truly powerful.
The Relationship between Humans and Animals
Gros Jean and Mi-Jean’s rejection of the animals sets off the chain of events that ultimately ends in both of their deaths. Conversely, Ti-Jean’s willingness to listen to and learn from the animals saves him from the old man. This contrast emphasizes that animals possess their own kinds of wisdom, and that it is worth listening to them. Ultimately, humans and animals are fundamentally similar because both are mortal. Recognizing this similarity allows for a more joyful experience of life in the world.
Knowledge
Knowledge isn’t universal, but rather relevant to one’s own life circumstances. Mi-Jean’s knowledge, based in Latin and books, is useless to protect him from the Devil, because it has no meaning in the context of the Caribbean. In contrast, Mother and the animals don’t seem obviously knowledgable, but their wisdom helps guide Ti-Jean to victory. Knowledge is valuable when it helps us navigate the world, not when it takes us away from the world.
