Ezekiel “Easy” Rawlins is the novel’s narrator and protagonist. A sensitive World War II veteran in his late twenties, Easy takes quiet pride in his work and, especially, his status as a homeowner. These two qualities convince him to accept Albright’s job offer: his pride, since he “never liked to admit that [he] could be dissuaded by fear” (13), and his desire to make his next mortgage payment. To Easy, home ownership is a way of signaling competence and worthiness to others: “I felt that I was just as good as any white man, but if I didn’t even own my front door then people would look at me like just another poor beggar” (9). Easy dutifully fulfills social obligations to both country and employer in the hopes that he will be accepted and respected by others, especially those inclined to judge him by his race.

The events of Devil in a Blue Dress put Easy’s efforts to earn respect to the test. As Easy discovers, upstanding behavior is not enough to protect him from the abuses and suspicions of prejudiced law enforcement, nor does it protect him from white men who seek to exploit him for profit, such as Albright.