Factory Worker
The Tramp is an unnamed factory worker on an assembly line during a period of economic depression (probably the Great Depression). He suffers a nervous breakdown from overwork at the factory, which sends his life into a spiral in which he cannot escape prison—every time he is released, he ends up back in jail by accident. Nevertheless, he continues to work toward a better life, helped by the Gamin, who he meets halfway through the film and who inspires him to work harder for a happy life with her.
The Gamin
The unnamed Gamin is the attractive young orphan with whom the factory worker falls in love (it is also sometimes argued that their relationship is one of platonic love). She steals to feed her family, and seems to care deeply about others, helping to feed other starving children near the docks. When her father dies (her mother is already dead at the start of the film), her little sisters are taken into the care of the state, but she runs away. She meets the Tramp while stealing a loaf of bread, and he takes the blame for her when the police try to arrest her. They escape before being taken to jail, and become fast friends, deciding to live together and try to build a better life for themselves. She inspires the Tramp to work harder and try to take control of his life.
Big Bill
Big Bill works next to the Tramp on the assembly line at the start of the film, and appears again later as a burglar at the department store, because he has become desperate and hungry since the closure of the factory. When he recognizes the Tramp at the department store, it spares the Tramp of the immediate danger posed by the burglar with the gun, but he ends up drinking with them and is fired the next morning as a result.
The Cafe Proprietor
This character is owner of the café that employs the Gamin and the Tramp at the end of the film. He spots the Gamin while she is dancing in the street, and is convinced by her to give the Tramp a job as well.
President of the Electro Steel Corp
The President of the factory at the start of the film watches over everything that happens in the factory on a closed circuit television. He seems not to care about his workers at all, constantly overworking them and pushing them to their physical limit. He represents the ‘owner’ class that Chaplin sees as having helped to cause the Depression by oppressing workers and focusing too much on efficiency.
The Child Welfare Officers
The two child welfare officers always appear together, and only in three scenes throughout the film. Though they are charged with the welfare of orphans, they are portrayed as quite nefarious, more concerned with putting the Gamin in detention of some kind than with her actual welfare. This is especially clear at the end, when she has successfully made a life for herself, and they try to arrest her anyway.
The Prison Cellmate
The Tramp’s prison cellmate when he first ends up in jail is a large, frightening man who enjoys embroidering (or doing needle-point). He intimidates the Tramp frequently, but the Tramp eventually foils his attempted escape with two other inmates.
The Gamin's Father
The Gamin’s father is one of the unemployed, and struggles to feed his family. His wife has died before the film begins, and the only thing that seems to bring him any happiness is his three daughters, whom he loves very much. He is killed in an altercation at a protest in the first part of the film, leaving the Gamin and her sisters as orphans.
The Minister's Wife
The Minister’s wife appears only in one scene, though it is a somewhat drawn out segment in which she is alone with the Tramp. She is a cold, stern, proper woman, but suffers from some stomach issues. As she sits alone with the Tramp in the sheriff’s office, her stomach grumbles uncontrollably while the Tramp tries to ignore it.
The Head Mechanic
The Tramp gets a new job as an assistant to the head mechanic when the factory reopens. They are tasked with getting the old machines back in working order, but the Tramp is a terrible assistant and the mechanic grows more and more angry with him. The mechanic ends up getting stuck in one of the machines (partially through the fault of the Tramp) and the Tramp has to feed him his lunch while he is stuck there.
