The Speaker
The speaker, at least at the poem's beginning, is a Black tenant renting from an abusive landlord. The tenant is polite but persistent as he tries to seek the landlord's help, but his anger gets the better of him when the landlord refuses to make necessary repairs. He becomes aggressive, and the landlord calls the police, causing the speaker to be arrested and sent to jail. The speaker, it is clear, is in an impossible position. When he threatens or acts combative with his landlord, he is punished. But when he tries to treat the landlord with deference, the landlord simply ignores him.
The Landlord
The landlord is the poem's antagonist, embodying racism, inequality, and greed. He takes advantage of his tenant, refusing to fix the homes he rents out but threatening the tenant with eviction when he refuses to pay rent. He calls the police the moment he is unable to face off with the tenant himself, preferring to rely on outside power structures rather than to simply provide the tenant with a livable home. At the end of the poem, the landlord disappears entirely, allowing the systems of policing, the courts, and the media to deal with his tenant for him. This may be Hughes's most damning critique of the landlord: rather than bear the consequences of his neglect, he shamelessly takes advantage of his relatively influential position, enlisting others to fight on his behalf.
