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Lesson 4
This assignment helped me understand how my Antagonist thinks and what motivates him. It also gave me a clearer analysis of my protagonist.
QUESTIONS FOR YOUR PROTAGONIST
Jolyn, Tell me
about yourself. I am Jolyn Robichaux. I grew up on the Southside of
Chicago. My father was a dentist and my mother a beautician. I was born in
1928. During the Depression years my father accepted battering as a form
of payments. We were well off. My dad had two small airplanes and a Buick
car. I went to Catholic school. I discovered by accident while scouting
through some drawers that my dad had a rare form of cancer and was dying.
I held the secret for three years until he died. I graduated from high
school at the head of my class. My first job was working as an Ediphone
operator. I met and married Joe Robichaux in 1952. We had two children.
Sheila was born in 1956, and Joey 1964. We bought Baldwin Ice Cream
company in 1968. My husband died from cancer in 1971. I took over the
company and turned it into a multi-million-dollar operation.
Why do you think
you were called to this journey? I think the fact that I came from a
family of entrepreneurs, my father in addition to his dental practice, had
the only Black owned movie theater in Cairo, IL. He also had a hamburger
joint and a popcorn stand. My mom had the beauty parlor. Why you? It was
unusual for a woman, much less a Black woman to be the head of a company
back then. I guess, I didn’t feel comfortable having someone else run my
company. I didn’t like putting my life in the care of an unknown person. I
had a mortgage, and loans to pay back. I had to find a way to run a
profitable business by taking matters into my hands.
You are up
against. What is it about them that makes this journey even more difficult
for you? I am a woman, a Black woman, a widow, a single mother with two
young children, a former housewife. I had no real business experience.
In order to
survive or accomplish this, you are going to have to step way outside of
your box. What changes do you expect to make and which of them will be the
most difficult? I expect to change the focus of the business from retail,
to wholesale. This will be difficult because Big Box companies are not
housing Black products. I will have to find a way to break through those
barriers. This will be a difficult change because traditionally our focus
was on retail. We are a pillar in the community, and they value our presence.
It’s just not profitable enough to maintain the business.
What habits or
ways of thinking do you think will be the most difficult to let go of? It
will be difficult to let go the fact that I am a woman in business in the
70s and there is a chance that people won’t take me seriously.
What fears,
insecurities and wounds have held you back? There are a lot of factors in
my subconscious thinking that holds me back. There is the issue of Colorism.
I am darker than most Black folks and it holds a negative stigma. I am on
the heavier side of the normal body image. I’ve dealt with issues such as
attempted rape in the past. As a woman, I always have to conscious of my
surroundings.
What skills,
background or expertise makes you well-suited to face this conflict or
antagonist? I am one to learn from my mistakes or to turn a potential
problem into an opportunity. I tend to be proactive. I am an organized
person.
What are you
hiding from the other characters? I am hiding my lack of experience. What don’t you want them to know? I don’t
want them to know that I was a housewife otherwise they would not take me
seriously.
What do you
think of? I think of how to run a profitable business. How to keep my employees
motivated and engaged. How to break into new markets.
Tell me your
side of this whole conflict / story. Everyone wanted me to sell the
business after my husband died and get a job as a teacher. I just wanted
to run my company and turn it into a profit.
What does it do
for your life is you succeed here? I think my success opens the door for
other women, especially women of color to show them that they can achieve
anything they set their minds on.
Ask any other
questions about their character profile that will help you.
How long did it
take you to move from fearful to being in control and confident? I never
totally moved away from being fearful. There was always something popping
up that puts me in that mode of uncertainty. From the failed contracts
with the airport concession stands, bank loans being called and asking me
to pay up, there was always uncertainty. Winning the Minority Entrepreneur
Award of the Year in 1985 gave me the recognition and some level of confidence
to get things done, but then the US government turned around and sue me
for violating child labor laws. I had to fight them “tooth and nail” and I
eventually won.QUESTIONS FOR YOUR ANTAGONIST
Tell me about
yourself. I am Troy Thomas. Jolyn Robichaux’s late husband Joe Robichaux
was my cousin. He trusted me to manage the business.
Having to do
with this journey, what are your strengths and weaknesses? I am a Black
man and I have another business, a night club. Joe trusted that my
experience is an asset in running his company.
Why are you
committed to making the Protagonist fail? Or for a relationship movie, why
are you committed to making them change? I don’t believe women were meant
for business. I don’t see how a woman can manage a company. No one listens
to women in business. They won’t get anything accomplished, Business is a
man’s job in a man’s world.
What do you get
out of winning this fight / succeeding in your plan / taking down your
competition? I get to run the company. Put Jolyn back into her rightful
place which is the home.
What drives you
toward your mission / agenda, even in the face of danger, ruin, or death?
I am confident that I am the right man for the job.
What secrets
must you keep to succeed? What other secrets do you keep out of fear /
insecurity? Secretly, I don’t feel I have the confidence and knowledge to
get immediate results. Being a Black man in America, I am aware of the
obstacles I face in trying to run a successful business. A lot of the Big
Box companies don’t do business with Blacks. They don’t house our products
and when they do, they give us limited space and restricts our business to
within the Black Belt of Chicago.
Compared to
other people like you, what makes you special? I am handsome. I am good
looking. The women love me. I am very influential. Employees trust in my
ability. I loan them money, so they feel obligated to me.
What do you
think of? I think of ways to get back at Jolyn for firing me. I want to
make her life as miserable as possible.
Tell me your
side of this whole conflict / story. I was running the company and though
business was slow, I was keeping our head above water. Jolyn didn’t think
it was good enough. She wanted to change the focus from retail to
wholesale. I wanted us to remain loyal to our community and I knew the
difficulty of breaking into the wholesale market. I worked by butt off for
the company and she fired me, now my living conditions have deteriorated.
I am living in a basement. I am going to get my revenge. -
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