Leo Banskoff

Leo is the narrator of "The Under Graham Railroad Box Car Set." A shrewd Jewish toy collector, Leo prizes himself on his ability to negotiate and attain rare treasures, particularly by putting on the persona of a bumbling absentminded professor. He is not a cheat, however. When Mrs. Hart attempts to give him the rare Civil War era train set for free, he refuses to take it and goes out of his way to make sure the Harts are appropriately compensated. Leo is committed to his work not only for its monetary value, but because he loves toys. He frequently waxes poetically on the topic, noting how the toy can be a representation of the "specific history of sorrow or joy in a child's life...which gives that product infinite value" (7).

While Leo is not overtly racist, he has racist tendencies that are significant in the story...