At 19, Tish is the youngest child in the Rivers family. Baldwin describes her as a slight, plain young woman. Her character arc takes her from a relatively sheltered childhood to maturity as a result of her pregnancy and efforts to support her partner during his incarceration. Tish’s defining trait at the start of the chronology of the novel is her innocence. The other characters in the novel see her as a person in need of protection from men and the negative influences for children in Harlem.

Tish begins the shift from late childhood to adulthood as a result of her relationship with Fonny. Her witnessing of the dysfunction in Fonny’s family helps her recognize the value of the love within the Rivers family. As her relationship with Fonny deepens, she attempts to create the same kind of love and ease in the domestic spaces she and Fonny share; she also expands that love outside of their dyad by welcoming Daniel.

The next major turning points for her character are her first sexual experience with Fonny, the encounter with Bell, and her pregnancy. With her sexual relationship with Fonny and the pregnancy, Tish begins the process of creating a family in the image of the Rivers.