# Berry Hamilton — The Sport of the Gods character guide

> Berry Hamilton in The Sport of the Gods by Paul Laurence Dunbar.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Berry

**First appearance:** 0000-i-the-hamiltons

## Snapshot

A butler of unimpeachable loyalty, Berry Hamilton is shattered by a false theft charge, and the prison years that follow remake him into a stranger even he barely recognizes.

## Who they are

Berry has served the Oakley household for two decades with a care so exacting that he tucks his employer into bed after dinner and keeps every valuable safe. When a missing sum is discovered, his spotless record counts for nothing against his employer's word, and the man who once laughed and sang is ground down into a dull, ox-like prisoner. His long-delayed pardon and reunion with a family scattered by his disgrace drive the novel's reckoning with what justice, if any, the wronged can expect.

## Relationships

### [Fannie Hamilton](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sport_of_the_gods_se/characters/fannie_hamilton)

_family_

Berry and Fannie are a devoted married couple whose lives are shattered when Berry is falsely accused of theft.

### [Maurice Oakley](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sport_of_the_gods_se/characters/maurice_oakley)

_rivalry_

Maurice Oakley falsely accuses Berry of theft, leading to Berry's imprisonment and the destruction of his family.

### [Joe Hamilton](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sport_of_the_gods_se/characters/joe_hamilton)

_family_

Berry is Joe's father, whose wrongful imprisonment severs their relationship and leaves Joe without guidance.

### [Maurice Oakley](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sport_of_the_gods_se/characters/maurice_oakley)

_rivalry_

Maurice Oakley falsely accuses Berry of theft, leading to Berry's imprisonment and the destruction of his family.

### [Fannie Hamilton](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sport_of_the_gods_se/characters/fannie_hamilton)

_family_

Berry and Fannie are a devoted married couple whose lives are shattered when Berry is falsely accused of theft.

### [Fannie Hamilton](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sport_of_the_gods_se/characters/fannie_hamilton)

_family_

Berry and Fannie are a devoted married couple whose lives are shattered when Berry is falsely accused of theft.

### [Joe Hamilton](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sport_of_the_gods_se/characters/joe_hamilton)

_family_

Berry is Joe's father, whose wrongful imprisonment severs their relationship and leaves Joe without guidance.

### [Maurice Oakley](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sport_of_the_gods_se/characters/maurice_oakley)

_rivalry_

Maurice Oakley falsely accuses Berry of theft, leading to Berry's imprisonment and the destruction of his family.

## In the story

### [The Hamiltons](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sport_of_the_gods_se/chapters/i-the-hamiltons)

Butler for Maurice Oakley for twenty years; a former slave who remained in the South; lives with his wife Fannie and children Joe and Kit in a cottage on the Oakley estate; proud and dignified, especially when preparing for the farewell dinner.

### [III: The Theft](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sport_of_the_gods_se/chapters/iii-the-theft)

The butler is the prime suspect due to his access to Frank's room and the proximity of his cottage to the open window.

### [From a Clear Sky](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sport_of_the_gods_se/chapters/iv-from-a-clear-sky)

Berry is cheerful and industrious in the morning, but is later accused of theft, arrested, and handcuffed despite his protestations of innocence.

### [V: The Justice of Men](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sport_of_the_gods_se/chapters/v-the-justice-of-men)

Arrested, convicted, and sentenced to ten years at hard labor for theft; collapses in court upon hearing his sentence.

### [XIII: The Oakleys](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sport_of_the_gods_se/chapters/xiii-the-oakleys)

Mentioned as being in prison, innocent of the theft; the Oakleys decide to let him remain incarcerated to protect their secret.

### [XVII: A Yellow Journal](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sport_of_the_gods_se/chapters/xvii-a-yellow-journal)

Released from prison after five years; physically and emotionally changed, he is brought to New York and given his wife's address.

### [XVIII: What Berry Found](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sport_of_the_gods_se/chapters/xviii-what-berry-found)

Released from prison, Berry seeks his wife and learns of his family's disintegration; he nearly commits murder but is spared when Gibson dies.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sport_of_the_gods_se/characters/berry_hamilton
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sport_of_the_gods_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sport_of_the_gods_se/characters