- Dodge; an American farmer in his 70s
- Aging dysfunctional patriarch of the family
- Is an alcoholic
- Is dying
- Has been emasculated by his son and the infertility of his fields
- Is ashamed of Halie's conceiving the child and is ashamed of killing it
- Sits and watches television and drinks
- Halie; Dodge's wife in her mid-60s
- The matriarch of the family
- Nags Dodge
- Had sex with her son and gives birth to her grandson/son[1]
- Abandons the family to socialize with Father Dewis and revel in the past
- Hero-worships the images of her lost son
- Tilden; their eldest son in his late 40s
- Lost son, he has no purpose, no direction in his life
- Had sex with his mother[1]
- Is confused, ashamed, and embarrassed about the child and its death
- Is bullied by the other characters
- Brings crops into the house from the field in the backyard
- Bradley; their second son, an amputee, in his early 40s
- Aggressive brother
- Lost his leg in a chainsaw accident
- Is emasculated by the removal of his leg
- Vince; Tilden's son, 22
- Reclaims possession of the house
- No one recognizes him when he arrives
- Shelly; Vince's girlfriend, 19
- Reluctant to be at Vince's grandparents' house
- Determined to uncover the family secret
- Utterly shaken by what she finds
- Skeptical of family relations
- Traumatized
- Father Dewis; a Protestant minister in his 60s
- Enjoys drinking and socializing with women
- Carrying on a not-so secret affair with Halie
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