The dead person
In the poem "Conversations'', the narrator has a conversation with a dead person. While the author does not explain who the dead person is, she lets it be understood that is someone she had a deep connection with at one point in her life and possibly someone she loved.
The unknown speaker
In the poem entitled "Conversations'', there is an unnamed narrator who talks with the dead person. She begins by asking the dead person to tell her how it is like to be dead but then she quickly changes her mind and insists that the dead person does not answer her question.
Peggy
Peggy is the main characters and also the narrator in the poem "Motherhood''. From the way the poem is narrated, we can reach the conclusion that Peggy is not an old woman but rather a young girl. She lives probably in a poor family where her parents work a lot and she had a little girl named Florence. In the poem, Peggy is pregnant once more and she prays to Saint Patrick to help her.
Maggie
Maggie is the name given to Peggy’s grandmother who told Peggy that Saint Patrick abolished all the snakes from Ireland and into Arizona.
Peggy's mother
The name of Peggy’s mother is not given but it is mentioned that she is does not accept her daughter’s actions and considers her as being a whore because she had two children out of wedlock.
Peggy's father
In comparison with his wife, the father is more accepting and he makes it clear that he does not mind his daughter being pregnant again. The author mentions how her father is a barber and works long hours and thus is almost never at home.
Florence
Florence is Peggy’s first daughter who is three years old when her mother has another baby. Peggy is mad because Florence saw the snake killed their cat and thus learned about death.
The policeman
In the poem entitled "Interview with a Policeman," the main character is a police officer who shot a black kid during a robbery. He presents his views on the matter while also mentioning how much he was affected by the incident.
The young girl
In the poem "Grandfather Says," the main character and the narrator is a young girl who is abused by her grandfather. The young girl who remains unnamed is ten years old when her grandmother stops her grandfather from abusing her and for a while the young girl forgets what happened to her in the past. She remembered her abuse in her adulthood and then she started to understand better why she behaved in a certain way in various situations.
The grandfather
In the poem "Grandfather Says," the main character and the narrator is a young girl who is abused by her grandfather. The young girl who remains unnamed is ten years old when her grandmother stops her grandfather from abusing her and for a while the young girl forgets what happened to her in the past. She remembered her abuse in her adulthood and then she started to understand better why she behaved in a certain way in various situations.
The grandmother
The grandmother in "Grandfather Says'' is the one who makes her husband stop abusing the young girl.
