The boy
In the poem entitled "Which Language Should I Speak?’’ the main character is the little boy who is also the narrator of the poem. From the detail given in the poem, we can reach the conclusion that the little boy lives in a rural area with his parents and grandparents who are extremely traditionalists. Because of this, he is pushed to be like them as well. He is also influenced by his teacher who tries to convince him to behave in a more modern way. Because of this, the boy is confused as he does not know how he should behave in that type of situation.
The grandfather
The grandfather appears in the poem entitled "Which Language Should I Speak?’’ as being related to the narrator of the story. The narrator mentions his grandfather and how he is the main person in his family and how everyone respects him. The grandfather is presented as being an abusive person who tries to influence his child into becoming a traditionalist as well even though the boy is not sure what he wants to do.
The teacher
The teacher is another character who appears in the poem "Which Language Should I Speak?’’. He tries to influence the boy to speak correctly and to avoid becoming a traditionalist person like his grandfather wanted him to become.
We
In the poem "The Life We Live," the narrator talks about we and gives the impression that he is a spokesperson of that group. "We’’ represents here the poor part of the population with whom the author identifies himself with. The narrator describes this population and also talks about the suffering the people have to go through on a daily basis.
You
The other person in the poem "The Life We Live’’ is "you’’ and it is the opposite of the general "we’’. The term "You’’ refers here to the rich people who had everything they wanted and who treated the poor in a harsh manner. The narrator criticizes this group of people and talks about their flaws.
