Gus Landor
Gus Landor, who is the protagonist of the novel, is the enigmatic former New York City police detective enlisted by West Point Academy to investigate the death of a young cadet who seemingly killed themselves. However, Gus Landor (with the assistance of an eager Edgar Allen Poe, whose help Landor enlisted) later determines that the cadet, in fact, did not kill themselves. They were murdered. And it is Landor's job to figure out who did it.
Landor is a complex man with a number of complex, deep, and dark secrets. But he is also a dedicated man who strives for excellence and always aims to close his case. To that end, he took an interest in a young poet named Edgar Allen Poe, who he became fast friends with. But their relationship - strong as it may be - is not impermeable, and Landor must balance Poe's delicate emotional state with the facts of the case.
Edgar Allen Poe
Though The Pale Blue Eye is a work of fiction, real-life poet Edgar Allen Poe plays a major role in the novel. Poe, who in real life did attend West Point, is a highly intelligent and, according to Landor, observant man with a passion for poetry and fiction (in the novel, it is revealed that Poe had already written two volumes of poetry). But Poe was a deeply troubled man. He dealt with depression and battled a drinking addiction, something that hindered his ability to succeed at West Point and in their investigation of who was responsible for the murders.
West Point Academy
Although not a flesh-and-blood character, West Point Academy is a character in its own right that looms large over The Pale Blue Eye. Not only is West Point the setting of the novel, but West Point also plays a major part in the role of the book. Ultimately, it was West Point that caused the death of the young cadets because of its strict, unrelenting, and unforgiving standards and expectations - not the person that ultimately did it.
