Charlie Freeman

Charlie Freeman is a research chimpanzee belonging to the Toneybee Institute. Named after Charlotte and Callie, Charlie was the result of an unexpected pregnancy. He was abandoned by his mother as a newborn baby. Charlie now becomes the central point of an experiment to teach him to communicate via sign language, which he learns how to do through the Freemans. He becomes famous for this. Charlie retires many years later. He lives out his life at the Institute.

Charlotte Freeman

Charlotte Freeman, an African-American girl about fourteen-years-old, is the daughter of Charles and Laurel. She is the older sister of Callie. Charlotte feels out of place in the heavily-white county in which the Institute is located, and she is equally angered and shocked by her mother’s closeness and commitment to Charlie. It is Charlotte who discovers for herself the history of the Institute. She is brokenhearted...