Roskus Gibson

Character Key: 
Display Name: 
Roskus Gibson
Sort Name: 
Gibson, Roskus
Race: 
Black
Gender: 
Male
Class: 
Free Black
Rank: 
Secondary
Vitality: 
Dies
Family: 
Gibson
Family (new): 
Occupation: 
Domestic Service
Specific Job: 
Carriage Driver
Cause of Death: 
Old Age
Other Texts: 
Biography: 

Roskus is husband to Dilsey and father to Versh, T.P., and Frony. He drives for the Compsons while also caring for the farm animals, although over the years his rheumatism makes that increasingly hard. He is slightly less loyal than his wife to the white family he works for, complaining that there "aint no luck on this place" (29). Dilsey reproaches him for giving their son Versh "them Memphis notions" - that is, presumably, encouraging Versh to leave Yoknapatawpha (31). Roskus' death is recorded among the jumbled memories that recur in Benjy's consciousness, but the date of it is uncertain. Benjy remembers when "Dilsey moaned" in her grief and Luster said he saw Roskus' ghost, "waving his arms in the barn" (33).

Disability: 
mobility impaired
Individual or Group: 
Individual
Character changes class in this text: 

digyok:node/character/3944