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J. D. Vance

This is the author, narrator, and central figure in the memoir Hillbilly Elegy. Born in Middletown, Ohio and raised by an on-again-off-again single mother, he considers himself to be a "hillbilly," or among a class of people of largely Scots-Irish heritage and living across the region known as Appalachia. Despite his humble and often traumatic upbringing, he has managed to break across class lines, graduate from a prestigious Ivy League law school, and attain success.

Bonnie Blanton

This individual served as the sole consistent mother figure in the author's life. Called "Mamaw," the author's maternal grandmother grew up in Jackson, Kentucky, and moved to Ohio after an unexpected pregnancy and marriage at the age of 13. She is described as gun-toting, foul-mouthed, mean--and yet still a sole source of support, stability, and love for her grandson.

Jim Vance

Called "Papaw" in the narrative, this is the author's...

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