Character Analysis
So we can pretty much count on one hand the things we know about Hakim-a-barber: he has a lot of hair, he's Arab or Muslim, and he might be married to Dee. Other than that though, he only has a few lines and since this story is written in first person, his thoughts are totally off-limits to us. The truth is that we just don't know enough about him to make much of a judgment about who he is.
But we're not off the hook with this mystery man yet. It turns out that Hakim-a-barber serves a really important function in the story—in fact, his presence manages to tell us a little something about each of our other characters. Minor characters can be cool like that.
Hakim-a-barber's first real interaction is with Maggie, as he tries (unsuccessfully) to give her a bear hug and then attempts to do some secret handshake with her. Maggie is really shaken by him; the poor girl breaks out into a cold sweat, as the narrator notices the "perspiration falling off her chin." Whether she's so freaked out because he's a Muslim stranger or a male stranger or just a stranger, her reaction shows just how sheltered she is.
It also shows how desperately she needs the intervention that takes place in the end to perhaps boost her confidence enough so that she can actually begin to interact with other people and assert herself as someone worthy of respect.
In Dee's character analysis we talk about how her sudden surge of racial pride seems kind of specious. Along that line, we might also question her motivations for bringing Hakim-a-Barber home. It's relevant to point out here that some black Americans in the Black Power movement (like Malcolm X) embraced Islam as an alternative to Christianity. Is hooking up with a Muslim guy just another way for Dee to show off her commitment to this identity? After all, we never really see the two exchange any affection.
On the other hand, she and Hakim-a-barber may be birds of a feather. The narrator notes the creepy way that Hakim-a-barber looks at her:
He just stood there grinning, looking down on me like somebody inspecting a Model A car. (36)
Don't look at our nice narrator that way, we want to yell at him. This is one moment where Hakim-a-barber veers into unlikeable territory (quite a feat for such a minor character). Like Dee, he seems to regard the narrator as some interesting cultural object, which is pretty demeaning when you think about it. But the story also shows through his character that Dee isn't an anomaly—Hakim-a-barber clues us in to the fact that Dee represents a certain segment of society.
In contrast to his condescending attitude, the narrator is open to Hakim-a-barber: she tries to get his lengthy name right and she doesn't seem to take offense when he tells her he doesn't eat collards and pork. Her hospitality suggests that, although the narrator lacks the kind of formal education that Dee has had, she is open-minded and receptive to other cultures. Yay, we like our narrator even more. So thanks for that, Hakim-a-barber.