The unnamed speaker, widely understood to be Ginsberg himself, is a disillusioned, queer, socialist poet living in 1950s Cold War society. He struggles with his mental health and financial poverty, claiming he is only worth two dollars and twenty-seven cents. Though he is frustrated by consumerism and paranoia, he admits to reading Time Magazine every week. He sees himself as an activist fighting against the military-industrial complex for the soul of the country.

America is personified as a massive, overwhelming entity that dictates 1950s Cold War culture. It represents conformity, capitalism, the military-industrial complex, and xenophobic paranoia. In the second stanza, the poem embodies the voice of America, portraying the country as worried about foreign threats while ignoring domestic poverty and suppression.

The speaker's mother is a Marxist activist who struggles with her mental health, specifically schizophrenia. She takes the young speaker to Communist Cell meetings, providing him with his foundational exposure to leftist politics and a sense of genuine community that contrasts with the isolation he feels in adulthood.

Scott Nearing is a speaker at the Communist Cell meetings the speaker attends as a child. He is remembered affectionately by the speaker as a grand old man and a mensch who contributes to the sincere and angelic atmosphere of the gatherings.

Mother Bloor is another speaker and organizer at the Communist Cell meetings the speaker attends in his youth. Her speeches are deeply emotional and moving, to the point that she brings the young speaker to tears.

A conceptual, affectionate rendering of Karl Marx, the original theorist of communism. The speaker refers to him as an uncle to emphasize his familiarity and comfort with Marxist ideology, contrasting sharply with the terrifying image of communism promoted by Cold War society.

Henry Ford is invoked as the ultimate symbol of American capitalism, mass production, and conformity. The speaker compares his own poetic process to Ford's assembly line, though the speaker notes his poems are distinct and individual in contrast to Ford's identical creations.