Sarah Kahn

The play opens with Sarah, an energetic, warm European Jewish woman of 37 at the beginning of the play. She is a committed socialist and strongly encourages others to be active politically. Her strong will often leads her to nag those around her, especially her husband, and she often believes she knows what is best for people. In the play's final moments, Ronnie accuses her of only wanting people to be happy if it is through her way.

Still, if there is a protagonist in this play, Sarah is it. Despite potential naivety or lack of education about her ideology, she is deeply committed to it out of compassion. While most people have become disillusioned with communism, she still believes in it. Her belief is not blind adherence but a genuine care for how the world should be.

Harry Kahn

The play opens with Harry, a measured European Jewish man of 35, at the beginning of the play. Harry, although he supports the labor union and his wife's socialist ideals, is more reserved in his approach to politics, and he is more self-interested than many of the other characters, opting to protect himself rather than stand by his ideals. Unable to keep a steady job, especially after his stroke in Act 2, he is constantly trying to get his wife to leave him alone. By the end of the play, after a second stroke, he has given up trying to live with any purpose.

Monty Blatt

Monty is working-class teenage boy who is friends with Dave and Prince. In the first act, Monty represents a brash youth who idolizes war and political ideologies without considering their consequences. He does not appear in the second act, but by the third act, he owns a grocery store and has rejected communism.

Dave Simmond

At the beginning of the play, Dave is a twenty-something young man who is friends with Monty and Prince. In the first act, he is slated to leave for Spain to help the socialist party fight in the civil war. By the second act, he has fought in World War II and married Ada. They move to a rural part of England, and he is employed making furniture.

Prince Silver

Prince is a young man, slightly older than Dave and Monty. The most hesitant of the three men, by the end of the play, he runs a second-hand shop and seems to have renounced communism.

Hymie Kossof

Hymie is Sarah's brother. The Kahns rely on him and Cissie to care for the children early in the play. He is first seen bloodied after the protest. However, by the end of the play, it is revealed that he runs a business and has likely renounced communism.

Cissie Kahn

Cissie is Harry's sister. She is a calculating and practical woman, and Sarah generally dislikes her because of her lack of warmth.

Ada Kahn

Ada is Harry and Sarah's daughter. She ages throughout the play, from a teenager in the first act to a young woman in the second to a woman in the third. While she joins the protests in the first act, she becomes disillusioned with people and politics by the second act.

Ada feels that communism is simply part of a larger, oppressive political system. By the end of the second act, she marries Dave and has a child; by the third act, she gives birth again. She is not present in the third act, having moved to rural England.

Ronnie Kahn

Ronnie is the son of Harry and Sarah. He ages throughout the play, from a...