Dave is a 17-year-old African American field worker living in the Jim Crow South. He feels alienated from his community and family, frustrated that the older men treat him like a child. Desperate to claim his masculinity and gain respect, he fixates on purchasing a gun from a local Sears Roebuck catalog. He currently lacks economic independence, as he must surrender his plantation wages directly to his mother.

Bob is Dave's father and the patriarchal head of the Saunders household. He works as a laborer on Jim Hawkins's plantation. At home, he maintains strict discipline and commands total obedience from his family. In the presence of white authority figures, however, he becomes passive and completely deferential. He expects his son to accept their subordinate position in society and focus exclusively on agricultural work.

Mrs. Saunders is Dave's mother and the primary domestic figure in the household. She manages the family's meager finances by collecting Dave's summer wages to save for his school clothes. She cares deeply about her son's education and physical safety. She operates within the constraints of her husband's patriarchal authority while attempting to keep Dave out of trouble in a racially hostile society.

Jim Hawkins is the white landowner who employs the Saunders family on his large plantation. He resides in a big white house that serves as a physical reminder of his wealth and social dominance. Secure in his position of authority, he maintains his power through inescapable economic dominance and debt. He expects constant subservience from his Black laborers and treats their hardships as business opportunities.

Joe is a local white store owner characterized by his fat stature and greasy face. He maintains a friendly demeanor toward Dave but openly laughs at the teenager's claims of being a man. Recognizing a chance for a quick sale, he intercepts Dave's plan to order from a catalog by offering him a used gun for two dollars.

Jenny is a female mule owned by Jim Hawkins and used for heavy manual labor on the plantation. As a sterile draft animal bred explicitly for work, she endures exhausting labor conditions in the fields. She represents the bottom of the plantation's hierarchy, possessing absolutely no autonomy over her daily existence.