The Goophered Grapevine

Described by the narrator as a “venerable-looking colored man” (par. 4, line 5), Julius McAdoo has lived on theMcAdoo plantation since the days of slavery. Julius is the equivalent of the griot figure in African culture, a person who was responsible for keeping the history and culture of his people alive by telling stories.

Julius is also a figure who is firmly rooted in the New World. He manages to survive slavery under a brutal master like Dugal McAdoo. He survives the aftermath of the war through cunning and industriousness, including harvesting and selling the grapes to make a living after the plantation falls into ruin. His willingness to interact with the narrator and find himself employment with the narrator show his ability to adapt to changing situations.

His ability to survive also makes him a trickster figure—a character who uses cleverness rather than brute power to survive, and one that is a mainstay in oral narratives from oral cultures. His survivalunderscores the importance of the resilience of African-Americans during the time of slavery and its aftermath.

The narrator, a native of Ohio, has some of the same aims as the Yankee, including profit-taking, but he represents a more positive symbol of what Northerners with more tolerant attitudes toward African-Americans could achieve.