Suttree is an intelligent and well-educated man who lives on a rundown houseboat after a stint in prison. He has intentionally separated himself from his respectable family, opting for radical self-sufficiency as a fisherman in polluted waters. He harbors deep shame about his past but maintains a strong sense of empathy for the outcasts of his community. He struggles heavily with alcohol and existential dread.

Gene Harrogate is an eighteen-year-old prisoner who meets Suttree while incarcerated. He comes from extreme poverty and lacks basic social awareness, resulting in constant friction with other inmates. Upon release, he seeks out Suttree in Knoxville, constructing makeshift dwellings and concocting bizarre, poorly planned survival schemes. He frequently alienates potential allies with his odd behavior.

Ab Jones is a large Black man who runs a meager business with his wife, Dolly, in the McAnally neighborhood. He struggles with alcoholism and a violent temper, traits that frequently put him in the crosshairs of the local police. Despite his aggressive exterior, he values his friendship with Suttree and seeks internal peace.

An elderly man who lives in an abandoned railway car due to a long-term lack of employment. He represents the extreme isolation of Knoxville's poorest citizens. He spends his days on the rails and avoids reading newspapers because they only report bad news.

An elderly man without permanent housing who survives by picking through trash in the poorest areas of the city. He engages Suttree in philosophical conversations about mortality and religion. He expresses heavy doubt about whether a higher power truly cares for the destitute.

Wanda is the eldest daughter of a family of mussel fishermen newly arrived in Knoxville. She lives a nomadic lifestyle on the river with her parents and siblings. Her cheerful nature quickly catches Suttree's attention when he travels upriver to join her family's fishing camp.

Joyce is an out-of-towner who makes a lucrative living through sex work. She is confident, financially independent, and generous with her earnings. She forms a fast bond with Suttree, bringing a sudden influx of money and new clothes into his otherwise impoverished life.

J-Bone is a childhood friend of Suttree who remains in the impoverished Knoxville area. He shares Suttree's fondness for heavy drinking and acts as a constant, reliable presence in his social circle. Their enduring friendship provides Suttree with a rare, positive link to his past.

Callahan is a tough, influential man Suttree meets while incarcerated. A former tile setter, he is known for starting fights and possessing a mean streak. After his release, he reconnects with Suttree in Knoxville and falls back into a chaotic lifestyle of bar brawls and bootlegging.

Suttree's maternal uncle, a man of lower social status than Suttree's father. He actively seeks out his nephew to mend family ties, keeping Suttree's location a secret while trying to understand the young man's self-imposed exile.

The protagonist's mother, who comes from a lower social class than her husband. She deeply loves her son and attempts to maintain contact with him, though her presence evokes a profound, unbearable guilt in Suttree.

An old, retired railroad worker who lives in destitution under a local bridge. He relies on the charity of friends like Suttree for food and has resigned himself entirely to a life outside the comforts of civilization.

The patriarch of a nomadic family trying to make a living off the river. He presents himself as an optimistic entrepreneur hunting for valuable pearls, though he is prone to exaggerating his success and lying to his wife about his whereabouts.

Reese's young son, who grows up working the river. Despite his youth, he possesses valuable survival and fishing skills, which he teaches to Suttree. He feels out of place in his family's nomadic lifestyle and longs for something different.

A local river fisherman of Indigenous ancestry who goes by an assumed name. He lives on the fringes of Knoxville society but proves to be an invaluable, generous resource to Suttree by sharing high-quality bait and culinary techniques.

A resident mystic and healer in the McAnally community. She reads palms, studies figurines, and dispenses natural remedies, commanding a mixture of fear and respect from the locals who seek her guidance during hard times.

An aggressive, hardened inmate serving time alongside Suttree. He has zero patience for Harrogate's eccentric behavior and readily uses violence to assert dominance within the prison hierarchy.

One of Suttree's impoverished acquaintances. He is desperate enough for money that he goes to gruesome lengths to collect his deceased father's insurance policy, relying on Suttree's reluctant loyalty to execute his plans.

One of J-Bone and Suttree's drinking buddies. He frequently finds himself incarcerated for public inebriation and participates in the rough, aimless street life of Knoxville's poorest districts.