Characters

The main character in the short story “Hostage” by Andrew Vachss is Walker, a police negotiator. His backstory suggests that the war in Vietnam affected him mentally, making him borderline sociopathic and extremely violent. 

The other main character in the story is Mark Weston, a young man who holds his own mother hostage in their apartment. Mark is described as a mentally unstable person, and the story’s ending reveals more about his traumatic childhood and the abuse he suffered because of his mother. 

The short story also briefly mentions the detective, Mark’s mother, and other police officers.

You can find characterizations of Walter and Mark in the following pages.