- Matilda Laimo is the main character in the novel. She was in her early teens and attending school, taught by Watts after the teachers fled the island once the blockade began. Matilda has lived on the island her whole life: she lives with only her mother Dolores, as her father has left to work abroad. Matilda goes to live with her father in Australia after her mother and Watts are killed
- Tom Watts (Pop Eye) is the only white man left on the island. He has a mysterious history, which many of the islanders long to know about, one being his marriage to Grace. He taught the children of the island and read to them, each day reading a chapter of Great Expectations.
- Dolores Laimo is the mother of Matilda and a strong Christian believer. She has many different viewpoints from Watts.
- Grace (Sheba) is the second wife of Watts. She was born on Bougainville, but moved to Wellington, New Zealand to study dentistry, where she fell in love with Watts. Grace returned to Bougainville with Watts where she lived in an old European mission building.
- Daniel is the character who unintentionally causes Watts' death, and his own by witnessing it. He claims that Watts is Dickens, and when the soldiers come looking for Pip, Watts takes the role of Dickens. This leads to his downfall, as the soldiers kill him because they believe he lied. Daniel is a little bit slow, and when the officer asks 'who saw the white man die?' Daniel puts his hand up and is delighted to know the answer, but the soldiers kill him.
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