The Speaker is an Indian American high school student dealing with his hybrid identity in a mostly white educational environment. He feels torn between a desire to fit in with his peers and a need to defend his family's cultural and religious heritage. Faced with his classmates' dismissive questions, he struggles to verbalize the spiritual significance of Hindu symbols and instead rubs a dollop of ketchup on his forehead.

She is an Indian American woman who observes traditional Hindu customs. She wears a bindi, a colored dot on her forehead, which her son views as a symbol of profound spiritual wisdom rather than a physical abnormality. Her adherence to her culture prompts her son's defensive stand in the cafeteria.

Nick is a white high school student who attends World History class with the speaker. He lacks multicultural awareness and views his Indian American friend's cultural practices as an oddity. He participates in the passive-aggressive prodding that frustrates the speaker.

Todd is another white teenager in the speaker's friend group. He views the lessons about the Indian caste system and suttee as disconnected curiosities rather than real history. His lack of sensitivity contributes to the speaker's sense of isolation.

Jesse is a high school student sitting with the speaker during lunch. Like the rest of his friend group, he represents the dominant cultural majority that instinctively distrusts differences. He asks disrespectful questions about whether the speaker's mother wears her dot in the shower or to bed.

Brad is a white classmate who acts as part of the unified block of teenagers questioning the speaker. He embodies the casual thoughtlessness of adolescence when confronted with unfamiliar cultural symbols. His behavior pushes the speaker to take physical action with the ketchup packet.