Who are the characters in Hunger by Roxane Gay?

The characters in Hunger by Roxane Gay are all people who have had a major impact on her life.

Roxane Gay, the author, is the daughter of Haitian immigrants. After being raped by classmates at age twelve, she starts eating to cope with her negative feelings. Obesity becomes a way of keeping herself safe. She goes away to a boarding school in her teens where she has easy access to food. By the time...

The characters in Hunger by Roxane Gay are all people who have had a major impact on her life.

Roxane Gay, the author, is the daughter of Haitian immigrants. After being raped by classmates at age twelve, she starts eating to cope with her negative feelings. Obesity becomes a way of keeping herself safe. She goes away to a boarding school in her teens where she has easy access to food. By the time she is in her late 20s, she weighs almost 600 pounds. She discusses her troubles with relationships as she works through her education, going all the way to a doctoral program. She writes about her relationship with food, standards of beauty, obesity in society, and self-acceptance.

Nicole Gay is Roxane's mother. She is a Haitian immigrant with a passion for photography who deeply loves her family. She stayed home to raise her children. 

Michael Gay is Roxane's father. He is two years older than her mother and worked as a civil engineer. Roxane and her siblings used to visit him on construction sites. Both he and her mother were very concerned about Roxane's weight. She had to set boundaries with them to avoid having it be a part of every conversation.

Joel and Michael, Jr. are Roxane's younger brothers. She is close with them. 

Christopher is the boy who orchestrated Roxane's rape. They were semi-friends before it happened; he ignored her at school but spent time with her after. She uses a pseudonym for him. Years later, she looks him up online and finds out he is an executive at a large company. 

Rex McGuinn is an English teacher at Roxane's boarding school. He appreciated her writing and took her to the counseling center when he saw that she was depressed.

Jon is a person that Roxane meets after he notices her at a casino. He is a logger who loves hunting, fishing, and basketball. They date, but ultimately she moves when her doctoral program ends and he does not move with her.