Jimmy is presented early on as the voice of reason and protest. His case for the proper treatment of Aborigines is rooted, not only in emotion, but in an analytical view not seen in the rest of the play. He functions in a similar way to Jim Casy in The Grapes of Wrath, in that his discussions often take the form of arguments that would not look out of place on an activist pamphlet. In the family, he is Gran’s son, Milly’s brother, and the uncle of Joe, Cissie and David. 

Gran represents both the wisdom of age and the strongest link between the family and their native traditions. It is she who teaches the wisdom of the earth and insists that one can survive by learning to rely on the land. It isn’t that she is anti-modernity or anti-medicine. Rather, she understands that access to modern healthcare depends on the Aborigines’ relationship to white society, which can withhold medicine at any time. Gran experiences the most drastic physical change by the end of the play. Although she is strong and commands respect, it is as if the events of the story finally weigh her down and transform her into a symbol of the frailty that also comes with advanced age.