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As an artist, Jean-Baptiste Marion exhibits rare insight into human nature. Unfortunately, JB is self-centered and selfish, so he uses his insight to further his career instead of being a compassionate friend. In college, he is the first of the friends to notice that Jude struggles to keep up and the only one of them to mock Jude’s disability. He is certain that each of his friends will be massively successful, and they take comfort from his confidence. They fail to see that he’s friends with them because he likes being around talented, successful people, believing that they help him shine brighter. Even when JB’s friends rescue him from the lowlife Jackson and drug addiction, JB responds with anger and resentment. From his first exhibit to his last, JB continually exploits Jude’s trauma for his own artistic success, and even toward the novel’s end, JB cannot bring himself to be the friend that Jude needs after the loss of Malcolm and Willem.
