Humboldt's Gift | Teaching Key Figures

Character Descriptions

This section provides a short description of all the major characters in the book. This can be printed out as a study guide for students, used as a "key" for leading a class discussion, or you can jump to the quiz/homework section to find worksheets that incorporate these descriptions into a variety of question formats.

Characters

Charlie Citrine - This person is the central character of Humboldt's Gift, as well as the narrator. Much of the action in the novel takes place in this person's mind in the form of memories, speculations, and flashbacks.

Von Humboldt Fleischer - This person is a New Yorker and becomes someone's mentor during the Greenwich Village days. This character dies in a New York hotel, destitute.

George Swiebel - This character is something of a guru to a neurotic essayist and playwright.

Rinaldo Cantabile - This character is a low-level crime figure.