The narrator of the poem is an individual living in a comfortable nation during a time of international crisis and war. Feeling a nagging sense of moral responsibility, the speaker admits to protesting but ultimately choosing the comfort of their home. They embody the tension between enjoying simple daily routines, like sitting outside to watch the sun, and recognizing their own complacency.

The unnamed military and authoritarian forces responsible for bringing violence to the lives of the characters. In Vasenka, a soldier from these ranks shoots the young deaf boy. Across the broader context of the poetry collection, they represent the systemic violence and tyranny that characters either actively resist or passively observe.

The residents of the fictional town of Vasenka form the central focus of the larger play, Deaf Republic. In response to a brutal act of violence, they collectively feign deafness. To communicate and organize their resistance, they invent a unique sign language. This act turns silence from a form of submission into a method of active rebellion.

A young, deaf resident of Vasenka whose tragic shooting by soldiers serves as the inciting incident for the town's resistance. His death sparks a profound reaction among the citizens. They adopt his physical condition as a unified method of protest against the authoritarian forces.

The people surrounding the speaker in the contemporary American setting of the poem "In a Time of Peace." They are observed acting as passive witnesses to systemic violence, choosing to record or watch a cop shooting a man rather than intervening. They reflect the broader theme of societal complicity.