American Street

by

Ibi Zoboi

Bad Leg/Papa Legba Character Analysis

Bad Leg is a homeless man who sits on the corner of American Street and Joy Road. People call him Bad Leg because he has one leg that he cannot use; when he sits on his customary overturned bucket, it sticks out in front of him. He sings songs and recites rhymes, and nobody takes him seriously. This changes when Fabiola moves in with Matant Jo, as she believes that Bad Leg is actually Papa Legba, the lwa (Vodou spirit) of the crossroads. Papa Legba is the lwa responsible for opening gates and allowing people to make transitions, so Fabiola prays to him often—she believes that he’s the one who will let Fabiola’s mother, Manman, into the United States after ICE detains her. Papa Legba cryptic, and his advice is never straightforward. And because Bad Leg only ever speaks in rhymes that seem to barely make sense, Fabiola decides that Bad Leg is Papa Legba after asking what happened to his leg. Bad Leg explains that he visited his daddy on “the other side” and agreed to lend his daddy his leg—but when he got back home, he found his leg was useless. Fabiola becomes increasingly convinced of her assessment as Bad Leg begins to smoke a cigar, an item associated with Papa Legba, and as his rhymes seem more and more connected to everything going on in Fabiola’s life. Indeed, one afternoon Bad Leg/Papa Legba leads Fabiola through Detroit to a nightclub in search of Dray, appearing and disappearing again in various like a spirit might. Ultimately, Papa Legba saves Fabiola from Dray by shooting Dray in the head before Dray can shoot Fabiola. After this, he turns to smoke and disappears from the street corner. With this, Fabiola realizes that Papa Legba has indeed been watching over 8800 American Street since Phillip and his family moved in.

Bad Leg/Papa Legba Quotes in American Street

The American Street quotes below are all either spoken by Bad Leg/Papa Legba or refer to Bad Leg/Papa Legba. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Dignity and the American Dream Theme Icon
).
Chapter 8 Quotes

“Leg. Bad,” I say loud and clear, because I now see him for who he is—the old man at the crossroads with his hat and cane and riddles come to open doors for me. He is the lwa who guards the gates to everything good—to everything bad, too. “Bad. Leg. Legba. Papa Legba.”

Related Characters: Fabiola Toussaint (speaker), Bad Leg/Papa Legba
Page Number: 82
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 11 Quotes

“On American Street, I will live with my aunt Jo and my cousins, and go to school, and have a cute boyfriend, and keep my mouth shut because in Haiti I learned not to shake hands with the devil. But on Joy Road, I will tell the truth. The truth will lead to my happiness, and I will drive long and far without anything in my way, like the path to New Jersey, to my mother, to her freedom, to my joy. Which road should I take, Papa Legba?”

Related Characters: Fabiola Toussaint (speaker), Kasim, Dray, Bad Leg/Papa Legba, Manman/Valerie Toussaint, Detective Shawna Stevens
Page Number: 112
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 13 Quotes

Then I begin to see him for who he really is. Dray, with his sunglasses even as night spreads across the sky, and his gold cross gleaming, and his love/hate for my cousin, reminds me of the lwa Baron Samedi, guardian of the cemetery—keeper of death.

Related Characters: Fabiola Toussaint (speaker), Donna/Primadonna François, Dray, Bad Leg/Papa Legba, Baron Samedi
Page Number: 132
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 16 Quotes

“Matant Jo,” I say. “Bad Leg at the corner, he’s not just a crazy man. He is Papa Legba and he is opening doors and big, big gates. I will show you. I promise.”

She turns to me. “Child, this is Detroit. Ain’t no Papa Legba hanging out on corners. Only dealers and junkies. You don’t know shit. But don’t worry. You’ll figure it out.”

Related Characters: Fabiola Toussaint (speaker), Matant Jo François (speaker), Bad Leg/Papa Legba
Page Number: 166
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 17 Quotes

This is a makeshift altar for Ezili with all the things she loves in the world. My whole body tingles when I realize what’s happening.

Again, Papa Legba has opened another door. How could I have missed this? Of course, I need Ezili’s help, too. And she’d been right under my nose, working through Donna with all her talk about hair, jewelry, clothes, and beauty.

Related Characters: Fabiola Toussaint (speaker), Donna/Primadonna François, Dray, Bad Leg/Papa Legba, Ezili/Ezili-Danto
Page Number: 178
Explanation and Analysis:
The Story of 8800 American Street Quotes

So in 2000, Jean-Phillip François, the Haitian immigrant and the first occupant to actually land a job at a car factory—the Chrysler plant—paid the city three thousand dollars in cash for that little house on American Street.

And maybe because the little house had been revived with the sounds of babies and the scent of warm meals and love and hopes and dreams, Death woke from its long sleep to claim the life of Haitian immigrant and father of three Jean-Phillip François with a single bullet to the head outside the Chrysler plant.

Death parked itself on the corner of American and Joy, some days as still as stone, other days singing cautionary songs and delivering telltale riddles, waiting for the day when one girl would ask to open the gates to the other side.

Related Characters: Fabiola Toussaint, Matant Jo François, Bad Leg/Papa Legba, Phillip/Jean-Phillip François
Related Symbols: The House at 8800 American Street
Page Number: 219
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire American Street LitChart as a printable PDF.
American Street PDF

Bad Leg/Papa Legba Quotes in American Street

The American Street quotes below are all either spoken by Bad Leg/Papa Legba or refer to Bad Leg/Papa Legba. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Dignity and the American Dream Theme Icon
).
Chapter 8 Quotes

“Leg. Bad,” I say loud and clear, because I now see him for who he is—the old man at the crossroads with his hat and cane and riddles come to open doors for me. He is the lwa who guards the gates to everything good—to everything bad, too. “Bad. Leg. Legba. Papa Legba.”

Related Characters: Fabiola Toussaint (speaker), Bad Leg/Papa Legba
Page Number: 82
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 11 Quotes

“On American Street, I will live with my aunt Jo and my cousins, and go to school, and have a cute boyfriend, and keep my mouth shut because in Haiti I learned not to shake hands with the devil. But on Joy Road, I will tell the truth. The truth will lead to my happiness, and I will drive long and far without anything in my way, like the path to New Jersey, to my mother, to her freedom, to my joy. Which road should I take, Papa Legba?”

Related Characters: Fabiola Toussaint (speaker), Kasim, Dray, Bad Leg/Papa Legba, Manman/Valerie Toussaint, Detective Shawna Stevens
Page Number: 112
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 13 Quotes

Then I begin to see him for who he really is. Dray, with his sunglasses even as night spreads across the sky, and his gold cross gleaming, and his love/hate for my cousin, reminds me of the lwa Baron Samedi, guardian of the cemetery—keeper of death.

Related Characters: Fabiola Toussaint (speaker), Donna/Primadonna François, Dray, Bad Leg/Papa Legba, Baron Samedi
Page Number: 132
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 16 Quotes

“Matant Jo,” I say. “Bad Leg at the corner, he’s not just a crazy man. He is Papa Legba and he is opening doors and big, big gates. I will show you. I promise.”

She turns to me. “Child, this is Detroit. Ain’t no Papa Legba hanging out on corners. Only dealers and junkies. You don’t know shit. But don’t worry. You’ll figure it out.”

Related Characters: Fabiola Toussaint (speaker), Matant Jo François (speaker), Bad Leg/Papa Legba
Page Number: 166
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 17 Quotes

This is a makeshift altar for Ezili with all the things she loves in the world. My whole body tingles when I realize what’s happening.

Again, Papa Legba has opened another door. How could I have missed this? Of course, I need Ezili’s help, too. And she’d been right under my nose, working through Donna with all her talk about hair, jewelry, clothes, and beauty.

Related Characters: Fabiola Toussaint (speaker), Donna/Primadonna François, Dray, Bad Leg/Papa Legba, Ezili/Ezili-Danto
Page Number: 178
Explanation and Analysis:
The Story of 8800 American Street Quotes

So in 2000, Jean-Phillip François, the Haitian immigrant and the first occupant to actually land a job at a car factory—the Chrysler plant—paid the city three thousand dollars in cash for that little house on American Street.

And maybe because the little house had been revived with the sounds of babies and the scent of warm meals and love and hopes and dreams, Death woke from its long sleep to claim the life of Haitian immigrant and father of three Jean-Phillip François with a single bullet to the head outside the Chrysler plant.

Death parked itself on the corner of American and Joy, some days as still as stone, other days singing cautionary songs and delivering telltale riddles, waiting for the day when one girl would ask to open the gates to the other side.

Related Characters: Fabiola Toussaint, Matant Jo François, Bad Leg/Papa Legba, Phillip/Jean-Phillip François
Related Symbols: The House at 8800 American Street
Page Number: 219
Explanation and Analysis: