# B. — The Enormous Room character guide

> B. in The Enormous Room by E. E. Cummings.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** La Ferté . B., La Ferté, Neither B., The Zulu , B., The Zulu, B.

**First appearance:** 0003-ii-en-route

## Snapshot

The narrator's fellow prisoner and closest companion, a man whose shared ordeal turns waiting rooms and wooden spoons into the raw material of friendship.

## Who they are

B. arrives at La Ferté alongside the narrator, and the two immediately become inseparable — sharing mattresses, meals, and the long nervous waits outside la commission's door. Their bond is the book's quiet center: through B., Cummings measures the camp not in cruelties but in the small conspiracies of two men killing time together. His presence makes the narrator's survival feel less like endurance and more like company.

## Relationships

### [Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_enormous_room_se/characters/narrator)

_friendship_

B. is a close companion and fellow inmate who shares the narrator's experiences and frustrations in the prison.

### [Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_enormous_room_se/characters/narrator)

_friendship_

B. is a close companion and fellow inmate who shares the narrator's experiences and frustrations in the prison.

### [Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_enormous_room_se/characters/narrator)

_friendship_

B. is a close companion and fellow inmate who shares the narrator's experiences and frustrations in the prison.

## In the story

### [The Enormous Room](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_enormous_room_se/chapters/the-enormous-room)

Present in the room, providing companionship and orientation for the narrator.

### [I: I Begin a Pilgrimage](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_enormous_room_se/chapters/i-i-begin-a-pilgrimage)

The narrator's friend and fellow volunteer, who is also taken away and interrogated.

### [II: En Route](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_enormous_room_se/chapters/ii-en-route)

B. is not present in this chapter; the narrator travels alone with gendarmes and other prisoners.

### [III: A Pilgrim's Progress](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_enormous_room_se/chapters/iii-a-pilgrim-s-progress)

B. is mentioned as the narrator's friend who was arrested with him and is presumably already at La Ferté Macé.

### [IV: Le Nouveau](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_enormous_room_se/chapters/iv-le-nouveau)

Already settled in the camp; greets the narrator, explains routines, and warns him about food theft.

### [V: A Group of Portraits](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_enormous_room_se/chapters/v-a-group-of-portraits)

Present during the narrator's time at La Ferté; recalls the Machine-Fixer's past as a socialist or anarchist.

### [VIII: The Wanderer](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_enormous_room_se/chapters/viii-the-wanderer)

Present with Cummings when the girl called Chocolat asks for chocolate; shares in giving her treats.

### [IX: Zoo-Loo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_enormous_room_se/chapters/ix-zoo-loo)

Present during the fight; comments on the planton's appearance, calling him 'a June bride.'

### [X: Surplice](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_enormous_room_se/chapters/x-surplice)

The narrator's companion; gives Surplice socks before his transfer to Précigne.

### [XI: Jean le Nègre](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_enormous_room_se/chapters/xi-jean-le-n-gre)

Sits with Jean after the cabinot incident, talking with him to avoid the subject of the struggle.

### [XII: Three Wise Men](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_enormous_room_se/chapters/xii-three-wise-men)

Called before the commission just before the narrator; emerges after a nerve-racking wait, but his fate remains uncertain.

### [XIII: I Say Goodbye to La Misère](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_enormous_room_se/chapters/xiii-i-say-goodbye-to-la-mis-re)

Departed for Précigne earlier; Cummings recalls his scurvy and the crackling noises when he disrobed.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_enormous_room_se/characters/b
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_enormous_room_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_enormous_room_se/characters