Curtis Character Analysis

Curtis is a young Black man in his late 20s and one of the novel’s narrators. He’s muscular, handsome, and constantly attracts attention from women because of this. Curtis comes to the community garden to grow tomatoes with the hope of winning back his ex-girlfriend, Lateesha. He and Lateesha dated five years before the novel begins, but at that point Curtis enjoyed the attention he’d get from other girls. This resulted in their breakup. Now, Curtis is ready to settle down and get married—and he knows that Lateesha is looking for someone to marry as well. When Lateesha spurns Curtis’s attempts to woo her back, he stakes out a spot near the sidewalk, in view of Lateesha’s window, and plants tomatoes—he remembers that they’re her favorite and wants to show her how much he cares. Curtis is also the first person to care for Royce, a homeless boy who sleeps in garden. Curtis supplies Royce with food, a new sleeping bag, some money, and a pitchfork in exchange for keeping watch over the tomatoes overnight (passersby have been stealing produce). Though it’s left ambiguous whether Lateesha decides to give Curtis another chance or not, Curtis’s story ends with Lateesha looking at the tomatoes, and Curtis noticing this.