R is disoriented in the world surrounding him, isolated from humanity and life. R yearns for something more, he needs something or someone to show him the way to triumph against the indifference he constantly battles as a zombie. "In my mind I am eloquent" (page 10.), he expresses. As the protagonist, R portrayed himself to connect with the readers through the use of emotion and empathy. R shows us that zombies can have feelings, hopes, and dreams. When R eats Perry's brain, he absorbs all of Perry's love for Julie. Subsequently, falls in love with Julie himself. Being in love compels R to feel and do things beyond groaning and grunting all day. .
The important trifling characters are used to interpret how the protagonist R develops and transforms throughout the novel. Julie is the Juliet to R's Romeo, when R first encounters her he describes her eyes as "classic novels and poetry" (page 18). Julie notably inspires R to talk about music, eat food (other than human flesh), smile, and laugh. However, to R smiling is "an unfamiliar but pleasant sensation" (page 39). M is R's best friend, "he is hundreds of pounds of muscle and fat draped onto a six-foot-five frame. Bearded, bald, bruised and rotten" (page 5). He lives in the women's restrooms, loves porn and is the only zombie R has known that has "managed to maintain a dangling scrap of humour" (page 74). Compatibly, R and M both want to feel the sensation of love. M is one of the first zombies to start going through a change and begin to interact with his subsisting feelings. Perry Kelvin was Julie's first love. Julie expresses he "was this brilliant, fiery kid, so weird and funny and full of dreams" (page 55). In spite of this, he just gave up, thus began roaming around with no purpose; much like a zombie. Perry was killed and eaten by R the day R meets Julie. R absorbs Perry's memories which triggered a change in R that altered the revival of human spirit.
