Freddie Drummond is a dynamic protagonist who undergoes a significant transformation throughout the story. He generates most of the story’s action, and his relationships and internal life form the basis of the narration.

Woking as a professor of sociology, he decides to go undercover within the working-class area that sits south of the Slot. While spending time there, he becomes increasingly enamored with the people and their lifestyle. Although he has lived a middle- to upper-class life and never engaged much with working-class people, he begins to adopt their customs and characteristics. Eventually, he takes on an alter ego as Bill Totts. Those south of the Slot know him as Bill, and his colleagues and friends north of the Slot know him as Freddie. His academic life, which is conceptual and patronizing of the working class, starts to seem dull and disingenuous. When he meets Mary and falls in love, his character enters the next phase of his transition from the world of the university to the world of factories. The class divide within San Francisco plays out in full force with Freddie’s character. Additionally, certain stereotypes regarding working-class people are present within his character.