Through the Arc of the Rain Forest

Jonathan B. Tweep, or J.B., is a three-armed American businessman. Chapter 6 initially describes: “J.B. was the sort of person who had gone through life trying everything and being second-best at everything. Life was a great elective divvied up into a series of smaller electives” (26). J.B. goes through life trying numerous occupations, excelling, but never feeling passion toward any of them. When GGG hires him, J.B. is surprised and delighted to find it is the first place he’s worked where he wants to take on more responsibility. His ability to maximize efficiency at GGG and dominate the world’s feather market goes on to demonstrate that he is calculated, intelligent, and formidable. He understands what he wants as a person, clearly stating to Michelle in Chapter 19, “‘But I don’t want to be appreciated. I want to be left alone! I want inconspicuous control!” (110). J.B. obtains the control he seeks but it costs him dearly. In the end, Michelle has left him, taking his newborn triplets with her. GGG is in ruins, the world is in ruins, and he jumps from the twenty third floor of his office building.

J.B.’s character arc serves as a cautionary tale about ambition and greed. His ability to climb the ranks of GGG—starting as an office filer and eventually running the entire company—is representative of the rugged individualism promoted in many societies today. His commodification of feathers as a personal wellness item helps people quit smoking and improve marriages, and many of his initial decisions appear positive—his ascent to power well deserved. However, J.B.’s ambition leads to greed and his downfall. When he arrives in Brazil, he has no intention of supporting the local economy, only exploit it for its natural resources. He downplays the toxicity that comes from mining the Matacão and wants to harvest every location around the world, which would ultimately lead to mutated animals worldwide. In Chapter 31, the opening of his final passage opens with “J.B. sat alone on the twenty-third floor of GGG” (181). The paragraph ends with his suicide. J.B.’s selfishness and profit-driven mentality leads to him paying the ultimate price and demonstrates Yamashita’s warning to readers about corporate greed and the consequences of ignoring science and nature.

Physically, J.B. further adds to the novel’s style of magical realism. His third arm is never explained. J.B. himself surmises he is one of the first of an evolved version of humans but has no evidence to back up his claim. While his extra appendage is a rarity, it is generally accepted by those around him. J.B.’s acceptance, and society’s acceptance, of his third arm creates a world that accepts the unexplained, a common element seen in magical realism. Furthermore, J.B. serves as a foil to Kazumasa. Both are extraordinary men, but they use their abilities for vastly different goals. 

Chico begins the story living a humble life on the coast of Ceará in his late teens. Chapter 5 describes him:

Chico Paco was nineteen, a thin bony youth with deep green, iridescent eyes and dark lashes set in a gentle face. Despite his youth, he was already a strong fisherman like his father before him. His hair, bleached yellow and orange under the constant sun, could perhaps be traced back to the old Dutch conquerors of that part of the country (21).

Chico is neighborly and caring. He helps Gilberto, who is a paraplegic, and comes to see him as a brother. He demonstrates immense selflessness when he volunteers to walk thousands of miles from Ceará to the Matacão in order to satisfy Dona Maria’s prayer to Saint George. Chico stands to gain nothing personally from this act, he does it purely out of selflessness and love for Dona Maria and Gilberto. The adoration he receives from strangers for his pilgrimage shows that Chico’s character is one worth embodying.

Chico comes to be driven by a faith in God, and strangers even see him as an angel. He rejects the idea that he is anything more than a man, but nevertheless embraces the belief that God has given him purpose. In Chapter 13, after meeting Rubens, who overwhelmed his dreams, Chico feels closure upon revisiting Rubens’s photo: “The photograph had become very important to him. It was a sign from God. It reminded him of his purpose” (73). When Kazumasa gives Chico a good sum of money, Chico’s strong faith motivates him to make a spiritual radio station rather than spend the money on material possessions. Radio Chico not only serves as an outlet for people to find spiritual guidance, it provides the platform for Lourdes to search for Kazumasa, giving her hope. Chico constantly acts in the interest of others and is loved by many as a result, exemplifying the beneficial results of caring for one another, even strangers.

Chico’s unprovoked death at the hand of kidnappers makes his story a tragic one. His unjust death shows that even living a life based on faith and selflessness may unintentionally lead to an untimely death. Chico acts with the best intentions, but the world he lives in still has greed, murder, and chaos. Chico’s arc in the story therefore shows that it isn’t enough for a few people to live with the best intentions. There are others out there that operate with malice and disregard for other’s lives. With Chico’s death, Yamashita shows that substantial and meaningful change is not easy. We are capable of both powerful good and evil and must grapple with that within ourselves and others. 

A native of the Amazon rain forest, Mané begins the story struggling to live off the land. From the beginning of the story, he is passionate about using feathers as a healing mechanism. When reporters interview him in Chapter 3, he is described as “a poor, barefoot regional type on national television” (16). Mané’s passion for “featherology” kickstarts the international interest in feathers and draws J.B. to the Matacão, setting up the primary conflict of the novel. Mané seeking to share his knowledge of feathers and shows a compassionate spirit, but the commodification and mass production of feathers by GGG shows that good intentions can be warped and destructive if let unregulated. He is too willing to help GGG and turns the other cheek when the feather market balloons and gets out of hand, contributing to the spread of typhus and the sudden extinction of countless birds.

Mané’s obsessiveness proves to be his downfall. His job at GGG drives his wife and children away. Worse, his youngest children die in the typhus epidemic, followed by Mané himself. Mourning the loss of his children, Mané realizes “The feather was becoming, in the eyes of its inventor, a monster” (162), but it’s too late. His character arc becomes another cautionary tale: Even the best intentions can have harmful consequences.

Despite his mistakes, other characters have positive impressions and of Mané throughout the story. Chico Paco reveres Mané as a father figure, and they remain friends for years. When Mané shares his personal problems with Chico in Chapter 23, Chico thinks “Mané had always been a man of balance. Chico Paco could not imagine Mané getting upset about anything.” (135). Batista, too, respects Mané, particularly his knowledge of feathers and birds. While Mané doesn’t take to corporate life, he is more than happy to give lectures and share knowledge, demonstrating a passion for education. Mané’s positive attributes develop him as a round character, capable of making positive and negative decisions. 

Batista and Tania live in the same apartment building as Kazumasa when he moves to Brazil. They are both attractive, capable, and passionate. The text describes Batista as “a man with a joke on the tip of his tongue and a penchant for gossip; he was cynical about politics, passionate about soccer, and painfully jealous of Tania Aparecida” (10). Batista’s jealously drives his interior conflict throughout the story. Despite the continuous success of their pigeon company, he can never completely enjoy his accomplishments while Tania continues to travel. Tania is likewise aware of her beauty. In Chapter 26, the ball narrates “That Tania Aparecida attracted attention and admiration, there was no doubt. If people wanted to look, what was it to her?” (153). Tania uses her confidence to negotiate business deals around the world, benefiting both her and her husband. She loves Batista but his jealous behavior distances her. However, the two never separate and reunite at the end of the story, suggesting that love can be messy, but worth fighting for.

After taking in a hurt pigeon, Batista becomes a lover of birds. When neighbors hover outside his apartment to read his pigeons’ prophetic messages, Batista’s passion remains with training his birds: “Batista, on the other hand, was more concerned with testing his pigeons and with extending the range of their flights” (56). Batista is unwavering in his care for birds and represents the beneficial relationship humans and animals can share. Tania’s passion lies in business: negotiating deals and expanding her company. She is honest in her dealings, and their business proves to help both large companies and single mothers. Tania’s success and positive storyline show that honesty and a strong work ethic can yield beneficial results for multiple parties. She is competitive, but never viciously.

By the end of the story, the bombing of DDT wipe out most of Batista and Tania’s pigeons. Much of their business is destroyed, but they still have their lives. In their final passage, they reunite. If they ever acted with ill will, it was only toward each other, and only because of how fiercely they love one another. Their survival of the catastrophic events at the climax of the story denotes them as admirable characters.