The People in the Trees

Dr. Ronald Kubodera is a friend and colleague of Norton who acts as the secondary narrator through his editing of Norton’s memoir. Kubodera is also at times an unreliable narrator and acts as a clear supporter of Norton despite the man’s many flaws. Even in the face of Norton’s crimes against his children, Kubodera keeps Norton’s best interests in mind and ultimately abandons his life in the United States to help Norton disappear and begin anew. His near obsession with Norton is apparent in his preface to the memoir, for he states:

The point is, talking to Norton, working with Norton, being with Norton, was simply a part of my quotidian life, in much the way some people watch television daily or read the newspaper daily […] But when such a rhythm is suddenly interrupted, it is worse than unsettling, it is unmooring (8).

In many ways, Kubodera loves Norton and clearly uses him as a daily guide in his life, following any example he sets and doing his best to support him. He is so entangled in Norton’s life that when Norton goes to prison, Kubodera feels lost and does his best to support Norton while also trying to shore up the man’s image in the eyes of both professional colleagues and the general public. It is of note, however, that despite the clear commitment that Kubodera exhibits for Norton, Kubodera is never actually noted in Norton’s memoirs. This fact suggests the existence of a critical imbalance in their relationship.

Kubodera is so committed to protecting Norton that he approaches the task of editing his memoirs through the angle of cultivating a more positive image of Norton. In the preface, he explains and defends his actions by saying, “I have cut—judiciously—passages that I felt did not enrich the narrative or were not otherwise of any particular relevance” (19). It is important to note, however, that the passage that Kubodera chooses to cut is the most damning one in existence: the passage in which Norton admits to raping his adopted son Victor. Therefore, Kubodera aims to hide the truth of Norton’s crimes and openly admits that his goal is to protect Norton’s image. Although he does include this passage at the end of the memoir, Kubodera’s unreliability as a narrator lies in his compulsion to portray Norton as a hero and a good man despite the overwhelming evidence of Norton’s crimes. Even though he includes the critical excerpt at the end of the book, Kubodera’s willingness to abandon his life and family for Norton raises the question of what else may have been “judiciously” edited out of Norton’s account.

Paul Tallent is at first an ally to Norton on Ivu’ivu as they work together to learn about the dreamers and the opa’ivu’eke. Later, he becomes a bit of an antagonist to Norton’s goals of unlocking the secrets of immortality, disagreeing with him about his treatment of the Ivu’ivuans and the dreamers. But Tallent is always, throughout the novel, the object of Norton’s desires and his guiding light as he tries to escape his inner loneliness. Despite the different roles he plays in Norton’s life, Tallent is first and foremost a tragic hero, with a painful past and benevolent approach to anthropology, for he always errs on the side of caution and protection when faced with the prospect of revealing the Ivu’ivuans to the world. Tallent explains his reasoning for this approach to Norton at the beginning of their expedition, stating, “I know what it’s like to be studied. […] I know what it’s like to be reduced to a thing, a series of behaviors and beliefs, for someone to find the exotic, the ritual, in every mundane action of mine” (111). Like Norton, Tallent’s past influences his future, and in his case, it leads to compassion and an obligation to protect the vulnerable. This leads to the conflict between Tallent and Norton, for Norton’s own commitment to science ignores the autonomy of the dreamers and Ivu’ivuans and does not consider the devastating effects that revealing the opa’ivu’eke’s secrets will have upon their community and culture.

After their initial expedition, when Norton studies the dreamers in a lab at Stanford, Tallent comes to visit. This visit represents the dissolution of their relationship, as the poor living conditions and swift decline of the dreamers in Norton’s care angers Tallent, and his opinions represent a greater philosophical divide growing between the two. Tallent’s is horrified by the dreamers’ deteriorated state, and when Norton nonchalantly admits to taking poor care of these people, Tallent’s outrage at their decline sharply illustrates the difference between the two men. With Tallent’s acute concern over the dreamers’ well-being, he stands as a foil to Norton’s callous exploitation. Norton’s appropriation of the dreamers’ lives and autonomy is undertaken for personal and professional gain, while Tallent truly cares for them as people. Likewise, Tallent remains committed to the islanders, going back to study the villagers while Norton only returns when he needs more opa’ivu’ekes for his own scientific research. Tallent ultimately disappears on Ivu’ivu, never to be seen again, crushing Norton and possibly inspiring him to disappear himself when he is released from prison years later.