In the city of Los Angeles, a man named Ezekiel Rawlins is called to work alongside the LAPD in order to track down the murderer of four women. In the book White Butterfly by Walter Mosley, Easy is an average citizen living in a predominantly black neighborhood called Watts during the year 1956. He is chosen to help solve this mystery because he knows his way around South Central Los Angeles and the people who reside there. Throughout his journey, Easy reveals more about his character as he gets closer to finding the suspect.
At first, Easy denies his call to action when a black officer named Quinten Naylor asks for his help to solve the murder of three black women. Easy does not want to get involved in another case but he knows that he is the only person that cares enough to help Officer Naylor because of his knowledge of the streets. Because Easy values his African American culture, finding justice for the women who were murdered and for his community is important to him. If he does not help Quinten, the case will not be solved because of the prejudice and racism that is present during this era. Since he is the hero of the story, it is his job to restore wholeness and right wrongs for the people of his community.
After getting involved with the case, Easy finds himself struggling in his relationship with his wife Regina. The couple has been married for about two years and have two children. Because of Easy’s work, he has many secrets and tends to keep things to himself. Regina notices this and it leads her to want Easy to be open and honest with her because she was used to being depended on by her thirteen brothers and her father. Although Easy tells her he loves her, he does not fully grasp that there is something lacking in their relationship. He is blinded by his perspective of what a man should be and what a woman wants. Easy believes that no man should be emotional or vulnerable because a woman does not want to put up with a man who cannot handle his own feelings. He thinks he has to be the strong figure in the relationship by providing Regina and their children with whatever they need. Since he does not verbalize his thoughts, Easy does not understand that Regina wants more than the materialistic things. He thinks that if he provides Regina with the money she needs or with anything she asks for, she will love him for that. Easy ends up losing Regina because he did not change his mindset.
As Easy continues on his investigation, he meets with many people who not only help him with the information, but reveal more about himself through these meetings. One thing Easy shows when speaking to a man named Roger Vaughn is that he believes in second chances. This is shown when Roger speaks about his wife leaving him with another man and Easy tries to convince Roger to give his wife another chance. Easy believes that Roger can fix things with his wife if he talks to her. But Easy is too compassionate to understand the issues between Roger and his wife are more complicated than he thinks. His compassion is also shown when he speaks to Mrs. Garnett, the mother of the last victim. Easy visits Mrs. Garnett to give her information about her daughter that he knows she is unaware of. The grieving mother is emotional after finding out that her daughter was a stripper. A different side of Easy is shown because he shows concern for her and even checks in on her when she steps out of the room.
Altogether, Easy continues to develop as a character as he gets closer to solving the mystery. Even though he does not realize it, each individual Easy meets or knows throughout the story aids in him in his self-discovery. Although he finds himself in the situations he is in, he will only see himself progress in the case and in his relationship once he changes.
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