The personified natural environment, stage set, or movie screen that serves as the background for the cowboy. The Backdrop functions as the speaker of the poem, representing nature and marginalized voices. It possesses a self-aware and critical voice, acutely feeling the ecological damage caused by the cowboy's careless expansion.

A symbol of the idealized, cinematic American hero who operates as a superficial and destructive force. He appears with a fake porcelain grin and a self-righteous attitude. Believing himself to be an innocent pioneer, he thoughtlessly leaves behind a trail of pollution and empty consumerism in his quest to conquer the horizon.