"Caleb" Cheeshahteaumuck
He is the first Native American to ever be accepted and graduate from Harvard University. Born into his local tribe, he first interacts with the white man in the form of Bethia. An outcast within his tribe, he is sent by his father to learn from the British. First, he studies under Bethia's father, the preacher, until his death. Then Caleb (as Bethia calls him) applies to Harvard and is accepted. They maintain a beautiful friendship until his death shortly after graduation. He dies happily, having made his own father proud and satisfied his curious nature with higher education.
Bethia Mayfield
Bethia is the narrator of the story. She's accompanied her family to the New World where her dad is the village preacher, a man of great prestige and influence. Struggling to find her own place in this new society, Bethia rebels against her community's rules for young women. She's the one who first meets Caleb in the woods and befriends him. Although they never develop a romantic relationship, they do remain friends for as long as they both survive. When her dad begins a sort of prep school out of their home, Bethia isn't allowed to participate. She realizes that she will never be content with the domestic lot of a woman in her culture. Her dad drowns on a voyage back to England, so she is forced to become an indentured servant to survive, but she's fortunate enough to end up working for a tutor at Cambridge. Eventually she meets Samuel, an academic in his own right. She leads a happy life with him, allowed to pursue her own academic interests from the comfort of their own home in the rigorously academic center of the country.
Joel
Joel is another young Native boy who comes to study under the preacher. He remains devoted to his best friend Caleb throughout the remainder of their lives. He too graduates from Harvard, though slightly later than Caleb. He dies of disease not long afterwards.
Makepeace
He is one of the Puritan boys who studies under the preacher. He ends up being tutored by the Cambridge man to whom Bethia is indentured. Like the others, he goes on to attend a university and graduate. Unlike the others, he harbors no innate love for intellectualism. After graduation, he embarks on his own personal journey to discover greater meaning.
The Preacher
Bethia's father is a solemn man. He takes his social position very seriously, demanding excellence from his children. He wishes Bethia would conform to her role as a woman better than she does as a young girl. His death is greatly mourned.
Samuel Corlett
He is a quintessential scholar. He meets Bethia at Cambridge, where they soon strike up a romance and eventually marry. His love for her is born through their mutual thirst for knowledge, so he welcomes her academic pursuits within their home. He is exactly the type of supportive, curious man who could help Bethia really blossom and satisfy her desire for knowledge.
