Mark (“Tapka”)
Mark is six-year old boy. He is the narrator in “Tapka”. He cultivates a profound bond with “Tapka” (Nahumovsky’s pet dog).
Mark’s Parents (“Tapka”)
They are ‘Baltic aristocrats’ who settle in Canada with their son Mark. They reside at Goldfinch.
Nahumovskys (“Tapka”)
They are a Russian couple (Rita Nahumovsky and Misha Nahumovsky) who reside at Goldfinch. They are neighbors to the narrator’s family. Rita works as a beautician whereas Misha works as a tool and die maker.
Jana (“Tapka”)
Jana is Mark's cousin and she is one year older than him. Rita and Misha assign Jana and Mark the duty of attending to Tapka.
The Narrator (“Roman Berman, Massage Therapist”)
The narrator is a nine-year old boy who observes his father’s exertion to breakthrough in Canada. The peculiarity of Canada does not weigh him down like it does to his parents. The narrator aids his father is dispensing flyers for publicizing his massage business.
Roman Berman (“Roman Berman, Massage Therapist”)
He is the narrator’s father. He is an immigrant from Latvia who takes up a medical course. His life in Canada is more demanding that it was in Latvia for the reason that he is not adept in English. He must set off his life from scratch after moving to Canada.
Dr. Kornblum (“Roman Berman, Massage Therapist”)
He is a doctor who invites Roman and his family to his house after coming across the marketing flyer. He declares that he and his wife (Rhonda) have an inclination for lending a hand to struggling Jews.
