Fred Daniels

Fred Daniels, the African-American main character in the story, is the man who lived underground. He represents an Everyman figure, and his name isn't revealed until he tries to type it on a typewriter in a jewelry shop. Later, when he attempts to type his name again, he can't remember it. Fred hides in the sewer to evade the police, who coerced him into confessing to the murder of a white woman. He had worked at Mrs. Wooten's home, a neighbor of the murdered woman. As the story progresses and he navigates the sewer tunnels and connecting basements, little else is revealed about him. He recognizes but rejects Christian hymns, knowing "most of the churches in the area," and he is skilled with carpentry tools and wiring. His past life above ground is irrelevant to the story. What matters is his underground experience and his return to the surface as a changed man. Ultimately, people with his new awareness cannot integrate into society. Fred is killed, and no one seems to notice his absence.

Johnson

Johnson is one of the three police officers who beat a confession out of Fred Daniels and attempt the same with the night watchman, Thompson. Among the three, he is the most hesitant, often letting Lawson make decisions for him.

Lawson

Lawson is the leader of the three police officers. His name is ironic because he is not a "son of the law," but a man who has perverted it for his own ends. Under his leadership, Johnson and Murphy have beaten two innocent men, resulting in a false confession and a suicide. When he instructs them to stay silent about Daniels’s reappearance and to burn the false confession, they comply without question. They don't even question why they are following Daniels to the sewer and are genuinely shocked when Lawson shoots Daniels in cold blood. One of them asks Lawson why he shot Daniels, to which he responds, "You've got to shoot his kind. They'd wreck things."

Murphy

Murphy is another of the three police officers and the one who shows the most sympathy for the protagonist. When Daniels returns to the police station after his time underground, Murphy tries to tell him that his name has been cleared, but Lawson silences him. Murphy believes Daniels is harmless but mentally unstable.

Thompson

Thompson works as the night watchman at the jewelry store. He is fast asleep, with a photo of his wife and children near his head and his gun lying on the floor beside him, when Daniels cleans out the safe and steals the gun. The following day, the same policemen who accused Daniels charge Thompson with the robbery. They beat him, much like they did the protagonist, in an attempt to force a confession. When left alone for a brief moment, Thompson takes his own life.