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Tish Rivers
The novel’s main character and narrator. Tish, also called Clementine, is nineteen years old during the main action of the novel. She is the devoted and protective girlfriend of Fonny, her friend since they were very young. Tish loves Fonny passionately and is pregnant with his child. She is determined to get him out of jail and build their life together.
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Fonny Hunt
Tish’s boyfriend and lifelong friend. Twenty-two years old during the main action of the novel, Fonny is in jail awaiting trial. Fonny is a proud and independent artist who sees his work with wood and stone as the center of his life. He worries over Tish and the baby and tries to remain hopeful that he can return to them.
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Sharon Rivers
Tish’s mother. A woman of great emotional strength, Sharon loves her family unconditionally and extends that love to Fonny. She calmly accepts the challenges and disappointments the family faces, providing Tish with constant care while counseling her not to give up in the face of adversity.
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Joseph Rivers
Tish’s father and a dock worker who takes pride in his family. Joseph accepts Fonny as one of his own, supporting his desire to marry Tish and encouraging Frank to keep believing in the possibility that they will get Fonny out of jail.
Ernestine Rivers
Tish’s older sister. Once obsessed with her appearance, Ernestine grows into a bookish and serious-minded woman who works with children at a settlement house. Confident and capable, Ernestine teases Tish but loves her deeply and is determined to help get Fonny out of jail. Ernestine is a fierce protector of her family and has a mental toughness that Tish admires.
Frank Hunt
Fonny’s father, a tailor. A kind, jovial man, Frank becomes angry and defeated after losing his shop. Frank loves Fonny and sees the two of them as allies in a family of sanctimonious women.
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Alice Hunt
Fonny’s mother. Beautiful in her youth, Mrs. Hunt is now aloof and judgmental. She is a dedicated churchgoer and decries Frank and Fonny as unrepentant sinners.
Adrienne Hunt
Fonny’s oldest sister. Adrienne is prim and self-satisfied. Although she takes her mother’s side in most things, she also loves her father.
Sheila Hunt
Fonny’s sister and the family’s middle child. Vain and anxious, Sheila shares her mother’s judgmental views of others.
Daniel Carty
A childhood friend of Fonny. Daniel comes back into Fonny’s life as an adult after being released from prison, traumatized by his time there.
Arnold Hayward
The lawyer defending Fonny. Hayward is a well-meaning white man who becomes increasingly invested in freeing Fonny as the case goes on.
Officer Bell
The beat cop who arrests Fonny. Officer Bell is a racist and a liar.
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Victoria Rogers
The woman who accuses Fonny of rape. A young mother from Puerto Rico, Victoria was left terrified and traumatized by the assault.
Pietro Thomasino Alvarez
Victoria’s current partner, a twenty-two-year-old who works in a nightclub in San Juan.
Jaime
A young man in Puerto Rico who becomes Sharon’s taxi driver and tries to help her.
Levy
The landlord of the loft that Tish and Fonny decide to rent. He is moved by their love for each other.
Pedrocito
A young waiter at the Spanish restaurant who serves Fonny and Tish when they cannot pay.
Luisito
A waiter at the Spanish restaurant and recent immigrant. Luisito coaxes Tish into eating after she visits Fonny in jail.
Italian punk
The young man who assaults Tish at the vegetable stand.
Shopkeeper
An Italian woman who defends Fonny from the police after he beats the man who assaults Tish.
Geneva Braithwaite
Tish’s best friend in school. Geneva is a brash and excitable girl.
Hertz employee
The woman at the San Juan airport who helps Sharon find a driver.
Nightclub waiter
The man at the nightclub who helps Sharon find Pietro.
The "Dark Sister"
A woman at the Sanctified church who engages in competitive call-and-response praise with Mrs. Hunt.
George
A young man who testifies at the Sanctified church and later dies of an overdose.
Rose
A woman who sings at the Sanctified church who later falls on hard times after having a baby.
Teddy
A boy at the Sanctified church who plays the tambourine.
Floor manager
Tish’s supervisor at the department store. He is a young white man who is usually nice.
Galileo Santini
The district attorney prosecuting Fonny’s case.
