# Alva Junior — The Blacker the Berry character guide

> Alva Junior in The Blacker the Berry by Wallace Thurman.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Alva, little Alva Junior, Alva Jr.

**First appearance:** 0005-part-iii-alva

## Snapshot

A charming, light-skinned charmer whose easy confidence and roving attention make him both the promise and the punishment of Emma Lou's Harlem hopes.

## Who they are

Alva moves through Harlem with the casual authority of a man whose color opens doors Emma Lou keeps finding shut, and he knows it. He offers her the warmth and desirability she has craved her whole life, but his eye wanders and his affections come with conditions she can't quite name. He matters because he embodies the exact hierarchy that has wounded her, and because wanting him forces her to confront how much of her own self-worth she has handed to men like him.

## Relationships

### [Emma Lou Morgan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blacker_the_berry_se/characters/emma_lou_morgan)

_romantic_

Alva is Emma Lou's love interest and later fiancé, but their relationship is fraught with his colorism and infidelity.

### [Braxton](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blacker_the_berry_se/characters/braxton)

_friendship_

Braxton is Alva's friend and accomplice, often involved in his social and romantic exploits.

### [Geraldine](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blacker_the_berry_se/characters/geraldine)

_romantic_

Geraldine is Alva's other lover, representing his infidelity and preference for lighter-skinned women.

### [Emma Lou Morgan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blacker_the_berry_se/characters/emma_lou_morgan)

_romantic_

Alva is Emma Lou's love interest and later fiancé, but their relationship is fraught with his colorism and infidelity.

### [Emma Lou Morgan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blacker_the_berry_se/characters/emma_lou_morgan)

_romantic_

Alva is Emma Lou's love interest and later fiancé, but their relationship is fraught with his colorism and infidelity.

### [Braxton](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blacker_the_berry_se/characters/braxton)

_friendship_

Braxton is Alva's friend and accomplice, often involved in his social and romantic exploits.

### [Braxton](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blacker_the_berry_se/characters/braxton)

_friendship_

Braxton is Alva's friend and accomplice, often involved in his social and romantic exploits.

### [Geraldine](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blacker_the_berry_se/characters/geraldine)

_romantic_

Geraldine is Alva's other lover, representing his infidelity and preference for lighter-skinned women.

### [Geraldine](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blacker_the_berry_se/characters/geraldine)

_romantic_

Geraldine is Alva's other lover, representing his infidelity and preference for lighter-skinned women.

## In the story

### [Part IV: Rent Party](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blacker_the_berry_se/chapters/part-iv-rent-party)

Grows frustrated with Emma Lou's obsession with color; secretly maintains a relationship with Geraldine, who is now pregnant and moving in.

### [Part V: Pyrrhic Victory](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blacker_the_berry_se/chapters/part-v-pyrrhic-victory)

Emma Lou cares for him, taking him to clinics for his legs and sun baths; his physical condition improves but his eyes retain an insane stare.

### [Part V: Pyrrhic Victory](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blacker_the_berry_se/chapters/part-v-pyrrhic-victory)

Alva Senior is recovering but becomes neglectful and drunk, relegating Emma Lou to a nurse role and showing no affection.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blacker_the_berry_se/characters/alva_junior
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blacker_the_berry_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blacker_the_berry_se/characters