Valentino Achak Deng is the main character and narrator of What is the What. He was born in South Sudan, and lived there until his village was attacked by radical Muslim forces trying to establish control of the territory. He becomes one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, a huge group of refugee boys marching from place to place. He travels from Sudan to Ethiopia to Kenya, where he finally rests for a time in a refugee camp. Eleven years later, he is finally granted passage to the United States, where he establishes a life in Atlanta, Georgia.

Achor Achor is Deng’s roommate in Atlanta. The two met in a refugee camp in Ethiopia and travelled together as Lost Boys. Achor Achor is smart and good at surviving, which helps him acclimate to life in America a bit better than some of the other boys. He seems to want to help care for Deng, making sure he is safe and making good choices.

Tonya is the woman who gets into Deng’s apartment at the beginning of the novel and facilitates the robbery.