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Characters

The Narrator: A writer named John also known as Jonah who describes the events in the book with humorous sarcastic detail. It is when he is writing a book on the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki where he first becomes involved with the Hoenikker children. He begins the book by stating "Call me Jonah", alluding to the first line of Herman Melville's Moby Dick. In a way, John and Ishmael, the narrator for Moby Dick, share the same traits as both a protagonist and a minor character at the same time.

Felix Hoenikker: The "Father of the Atom Bomb", Felix Hoenikker was proclaimed to be one of the smartest scientists on Earth. An eccentric, emotionless man, he is depicted as amoral and apathetic towards anything other than his research, just as long as he had something to keep him busy, as in his role as one of the "Fathers of the Atomic Bomb", and in his creation of "ice-nine", something he saw as a mental puzzle (a Marine general suggested developing a substance that could freeze and compact mud so soldiers could run across it more easily) which ends up destroying life on Earth. It is the narrator's quest for biographical details about Hoenikker that provides both the background and the connecting thread between the various subsections of the story.

Emily Hoenikker: The beautiful wife of Felix Hoenikker, who died during the birth of Newt from a pelvic injury.

Frank Hoenikker: The son of famed scientist Felix Hoenikker, and Major General of San Lorenzo. He is the brother of both Newt and Angela Hoenikker.

Newt Hoenikker: The midget son of famed scientist Felix Hoenikker, and a painter. He is the brother of both Frank and Angela Hoenikker.

Angela Hoenikker: The daughter of famed scientist Felix Hoenikker, and a clarinetist. She is the sister of both Frank and Newt Hoenikker and is married to Harrison C. Connors.

Bokonon: A co-founder of San Lorenzo (along with Edward McCabe) and creator of the religion of Bokononism, which he asked McCabe to outlaw. Born as Lionel Boyd Johnson.

Earl McCabe: A co-founder of San Lorenzo and a marine deserter, who ruled San Lorenzo for many years.

"Papa" Monzano: The ailing dictator of San Lorenzo who was the first human to die of Ice-Nine. He is the adopted father of Mona Monzano.

Mona Monzano: The adopted daughter of "Papa" Monzano, who marries John before dying of Ice-Nine.

Julian Castle: The multi-millionaire owner of Castle Sugar Cooperation, who John travels to San Lorenzo to interview.

H. Lowe Crosby: A bicycle manufacturer who John meets on a plane to San Lorenzo.

Hazel Crosby: The wife of H. Lowe Crosby, who asks all the Hoosiers she meets around the globe to call her "Mom".

Philip Castle: The son of Julian Castle, and the operator of the hotel Casa Mona on the island on San Lorenzo. He also writes a history of San Lorenzo that the narrator reads on his flight to the island.

Horlick Minton: The new American ambassador to San Lorenzo, who John meets on a plane.

Claire Minton: The wife of the new American ambassador to San Lorenzo.