Joe Baker

Submitted by rlcoleman@usout... on Sat, 2015-01-31 22:59
Text: 
"The Old People"
Character Key: 
Jobaker|Joe Baker
Display Name: 
Joe Baker
Sort Name: 
Baker, Joe
AKA: 
Jobaker
Race: 
Indian
Gender: 
Male
Class: 
Indian Tribal Member
Rank: 
Minor
Vitality: 
Dies
Occupation: 
Other
Specific Job: 
Hunter|Fisherman
First Mentioned: 
Sam Fathers' Blacksmith Shop 2 in "The Old People" (Location)
Home: 
Jobaker's Hut in "The Old People" (Location)
Cause of Death: 
Old Age
Other Texts: 
"The Bear"
Go Down, Moses
Biography: 

Called both Joe Baker (by the narrator, 205) and Jobaker (by himself, 204), he is a full-blooded Chickasaw Indian and friend of Sam Fathers. His history is unknown. According to the narrator, he "lived in a foul little shack at the fork of the creek four or five miles" from the narrator's farm (204). Living as a hermit, he hunted and fished for his livelihood. He would sometimes visit Fathers in the blacksmith shop, where the two old men spoke "a mixture of negroid English and flat hill dialect" with an occasional word or two in the old Chickasaw vocabulary (205). The story suggests Sam plays a role, perhaps a traditional Chickasaw role, in Jobaker's death and the burning of his hut. According to the narrator, "nobody ever found Joe Baker's grave" (205).

Note: 
patois
Individual or Group: 
Individual
Character changes class in this text: 

digyok:node/character/7048