The unnamed narrator
A scholarship student who is the only Jewish student as his prep school. He is constantly rejected by his peers, and he often views himself as in conflict with them because of their critical opinion of him. He doesn't fit in, so turns his attentions to books, developing a passion for strong thematic voices, like Frost, Ayn Rand, and others, and when he earns a chance to meet them by winning a writing contest, he completely absorbs himself in the endeavor.
Dean Makepeace
This dean catches the young student in plagiarism. The man expels the study and takes back all the prestigious awards that the narrator earned for himself. The young student is distraught, but in the falling action, we learn more about Dean Makepeace. He was lying the whole time about knowing Ernest Hemingway, and the novelist holds that as an equal sin.
The narrator's stolen character
The story that won the student is an interesting one, because it was written not by him, but by a girl who was also the only Jewish student at a wealthy prep school. He just switched the gender of her character to be a boy, but in some ways, the story is proven to be androgynous, because the story is beautiful and true with either character.
