Carol
Carol is a college student, presumably from an underprivileged socioeconomic background, who has come to John for help with his course. Despite fulfilling the requirements of the course, she finds herself unable to understand the assigned texts or John's lectures. In Act I, Carol exposes her insecurities to John, who tries to comfort her with words and by holding her. Carol will go on to report these actions to the school's Tenure Committee as inappropriate conduct and harassment. When John physically restrains her in Act II, Carol will then take these allegations to law enforcement, filing charges of rape and battery against John. This makes it difficult to pinpoint her true motives and to characterize her as either the protagonist or the antagonist of the play. It is also difficult to say whether she undergoes what could be interpreted as character growth, evolving from a seemingly victimized and vulnerable position to taking on the role of a persecutor. Readers may associate her with a culture of hypersensitivity and crazed political correctness, or see her as an empowered, brave young woman who selflessly uses her own situation to fight against a patriarchal society.
John
John is an aloof university professor who teaches at Carol's college. When the play opens, he is in the process of being granted tenure and, as a result, is about to purchase a new house for his family. Both his writing and his speaking traffic heavily in academic jargon, making tangentially relevant historical references and using words that Carol cannot understand. His book, which is at the heart of Carol's difficulty in his course, questions the purpose of higher education, an issue that he brings up during his first meeting with Carol. During this meeting, John reveals that he was thought to be stupid as a child and offers to help Carol by giving her an A in the course and one-on-one lessons. While John's intentions are unclear, this can be read either as an extension of John's unorthodox educational philosophy or an inappropriate come-on to Carol. After Carol accuses him of sexual misconduct, John finds his dreams of tenure and home ownership slowly stripped away. John is either unable to comprehend the logic behind Carol's actions or is unwilling to face his changing reality, thinking he can regain control the situation. Ultimately, Carol exposes John's privilege and hypocrisy, leading him to face the consequences of his actions.
