George Bowling
A simple city man, Bowling is overweight and married with kids. 45 years old when the story begins, Bowling is still attached deeply to his childhood, which he believes to have been the best part of his life. Winning a sizable sum at a horse race, he decides to take a "tour of his childhood". At his hometown, he is irritated and afraid that nothing is the same as it used to be. He becomes frustrated with Progress, upset that it erased his childhood and will erase his life once he is long gone.
Hilda Bowling
The wife of George, Hilda is a typical city wife. She is fond of her husband but not too fond, and takes care of the kids while he is off at work. She attends a book club meeting that she drags her husband to, this added in her character and the book as a way for George to be reminded of the war. Representing what it is to not be much in the world, simply living, Hilda is so typical that she almost seems crazy.
Old Porteous
Described as old because of his extreme age, Porteous used to teach George Bowling when he was in school. The two had close ties when they used to work together, and George decides to meet him again to add some flavor to his life. However, George is surprised when he realizes that time has distorted Porteous into an old, boring fool with no taste of life whatsoever.
The Bowling Kids
Although not described individually, these kids are of George and Hilda Bowling. Referenced as loud and sometimes obnoxious, the kids are not a huge part of George's life. Instead, he likes to focus on his own childhood, which he likes to think is nothing like that of his own children.
