David
David is the protagonist and narrator. In half of the stories, David is depicted as a child and an adolescent. In the the other half of the book, David is portrayed as an adult in his 20s, a young man with freedom of choice. Like many other villagers, David and his family live below the poverty line, but he is not discouraged because he believes that he has a reason to live.
David and his friend Fellis hang out together and spend most of their time drinking and smoking. The two young men are drug addicts, ready to continue experimenting with whatever comes their way. However, David is intelligent, and whenever an opportunity for improvement comes, he grabs the chance. Importantly, David's relationship with his sister Paige is strong because they support each other even during times of crisis.
Frick
Frick is David's pseudo stepfather. He is the boyfriend of David's mother and spends most of his time practicing medicine. However, Frick did not spend enough time with David when he was young, leaving David to explore and experiment with anything that came his way, including smoking and drinking alcohol.
Paige
Paige is David's older sister. She arrives home pregnant, and she arrives home at a time when family is burdened with poverty. However, David welcomes and gives her all the support she needs. The relationship between Paige and David forms the basis on which the author builds the theme of the sibling relationship.
Fellis
Fellis is David's best friend. When they become young adults, he influences David to go out and drink. Fellis, like David, comes from a struggling family and has no one to watch over what he does. Therefore, he joins hands with David, and they start drinking alcohol and smoking, not knowing they are ruining their lives.
