# Noah — Poetry character guide

> Noah in Poetry by James Weldon Johnson.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Old Man Noah, Old Noah, Man

**First appearance:** 0068-noah-built-the-ark

## Snapshot

A just man who hammers gopher wood for a hundred years while his neighbors laugh, then bars the door on a drowning world and weeps on dry ground.

## Who they are

Noah preaches repentance with his long white beard flying while the crowd jokes that he's got water on the brain. He builds, he warns, he is mocked — and when the flood comes, the same sinners who pleaded at the hull are shut out by his own hand. His weeping face in the new grass makes him the poem's image of survival's strange grief.

## Relationships

### [Satan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_13_se/characters/satan)

_rivalry_

Noah is tested by Satan's temptations and opposition during the flood narrative.

### [Jesus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_13_se/characters/jesus)

_friendship_

Jesus and Noah share a spiritual alliance, with Jesus supporting Noah's righteous mission.

### [Father Abraham](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_13_se/characters/father_abraham)

_family_

Father Abraham is a patriarchal ancestor to Noah, linking them through biblical lineage.

### [Adam](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_13_se/characters/adam)

_family_

Adam is Noah's distant forefather, connecting them through the generational chain.

### [Eve](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_13_se/characters/eve)

_family_

Eve is Noah's ancestral mother, linking him to the first humans.

### [Moses](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_13_se/characters/moses)

_friendship_

Moses and Noah are righteous figures who share a bond as leaders chosen by God.

### [Satan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_13_se/characters/satan)

_rivalry_

Noah is tested by Satan's temptations and opposition during the flood narrative.

### [Jesus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_13_se/characters/jesus)

_friendship_

Jesus and Noah share a spiritual alliance, with Jesus supporting Noah's righteous mission.

## In the story

### [Noah Built the Ark](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_13_se/chapters/noah-built-the-ark)

Noah is depicted as a just and righteous man who builds the ark and preaches repentance, but is mocked by the crowd.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_13_se/characters/noah
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_13_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_13_se/characters