Paul
Paul, the protagonist of the story, is a young boy determined to please and bring luck to his mother. He easily becomes fixated on riding his rocking horse to "find" the winner of the next horse race, which makes his siblings frightened and uncomfortable with him. He is different from the majority of other children, as he is very involved and concerned about adult responsibilities such as finances. Paul works very hard in his efforts to earn more money for the family; these efforts often exhaust and tire the boy out so much that it causes great sickness in him. Although Paul takes on the role of provider in the family, he still has very childlike characteristics about him. He is very naive and unable or unwilling to see that his mother is ungrateful for the work he puts in. He is also blind to boundaries for one's self, showcased by the frenzies he goes through on his own account. The reader does not find out what Paul looks like besides his large blue eyes, but the narrator often draws attention to his eyes as they appear to change throughout the story the more involved he is in his quest.
Hester
Hester is Paul's mother, and ultimately the reason he becomes ill. Hester was born to a wealthy family and married a man who had prospects of also becoming wealthy. Her husband never met his potential, making Hester believe that she had an "unlucky" life. Although Hester believed she was a member of a poor family, she was actually quite well off and compared herself to only those who were richer than she. Although she believes she wants to be wealthy, she's more concerned with appearances as she often spends all the money she can get on useless materials and not on paying her debts. She was very greedy and found pleasure in buying materials rather than spending it on her family. The narrator says that Hester never loved her children, even though Paul went through extensive work to feed her lavish lifestyle. At the end of the story, she doesn't appear to feel remorse over the loss of her son, but rather over the loss of her future income.
Uncle Oscar
Uncle Oscar enables Paul to bet on the horses and is able to secure his own financial gain through Paul. Although Uncle Oscar gives the appearance of a concerned family member, he is willing to sacrifice Paul's health for money. He exploits Paul's gift and does not give any indication that he has any feelings for Paul at all. At the end of the story, he ends with a chilling line, exclaiming to Hester that she made a lot of money, then as an afterthought mentions the bad fortune of Paul's untimely death.
Bassett
Bassett was the family's servant. He fancied horse racing and would tell Paul about the horses. Paul became interested and asked Bassett if he could also bet. Bassett agreed and would place bets for Paul and bring back what he had won. He never brought Paul to the races or did anything else that could hurt Paul in any way. He seemed to genuinely care for Paul given his concern, gratefulness, and caring demeanor.
Paul's Father
Although never actually seen in the story, Paul's father plays an important role in forcing Paul to feel the need to provide for the family through his absence. Paul tries to replace his father by financially supporting the family.
Nurse
The nurse takes care of Paul and his two sisters, but eventually Paul grows too old for her to control.
