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Jewel, Addie\'s son by Whitfield, is 18 years old. Like Pearl, the product of Hester Prynne\'s adulterous affair in Nathaniel Hawthorne\'s novel The Scarlet Letter, Jewel\'s name is a symbol of the value his mother places on him. The favoritism that Addie showed him is responsible for the antagonism between him and Darl.
A blend of inarticulateness and action, Jewel personifies Addie\'s preference for experience over words. He is always in motion. He expresses himself best through actions. When he verbalizes his love for Addie--in his single monologue--he does so with a violent fantasy about hurling down stones on outsiders. Elsewhere, he expresses his love for her through deeds, not words.
His relationship with his horse is equally intense. Like the Greek god Dionysus, with whom some readers associate him, Jewel is both virile and cruel. (See the Note in Chapter 1 of The Story section for further discussion of Jewel as Dionysus.)
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