60 pages • 2 hours read
Karen Tei YamashitaThrough the Arc of the Rain Forest
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1990A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Part 3, Chapters 12-16Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 3: "More Development"
Chapter 12 Summary: "The Feather"
J.B. flies to the Matacão, accompanied by an interpreter and French bird professor, Michelle. Together, they ask Mané questions about feathers. Mané is forthcoming and reveals everything he knows about birds and feathers. At first, J.B.’s third arm feels weak in the Brazilian climate. As he listens to Mané, he doubts he can stay in Brazil long. When his arm acclimates and regains its strength, however, J.B. prepares for a long stay at the Matacão. He flies in a pre-constructed GGG building because “J.B. had no time for the handmade mortar-and-block, which would have provided jobs for and fed hundreds of people for several years. He wanted GGG’s presence to be felt immediately” (67). Red-haired admins and other staff are flown in. Mané gets hired on as a consultant.
The perpetually barefoot Mané takes little interest in corporate life and spends no time in his office. He ignores his pager and mobile phone when J.B. tries to reach him. Nevertheless, Mané assists J.B. and the GGG company in finding the best feathers to purchase. J.B. uses this information to negotiate with feather distributors. Back in New York, investors and lobbyists prepare for the soon-to-be feather craze: “People were beginning to talk about ‘The Feather,’ and GGG was touting it like a sensation akin to Coca-Cola” (69). Before distribution begins in the states, feathers already see a surge in popularity around the Matacão.
Everyone pesters Mané with questions about feathers, viewing him as the leading expert. To please the masses, he lectures at a local college. Mané enjoys lecturing about his passion and defending the feather’s healing abilities, and his popularity with listeners and students grows.
Chapter 13 Summary: "Pilgrim’s Progress"
Chico Paco makes the difficult journey from the Matacão to São Paulo. He finds Kazumasa, who assumes he wants money. Despite the selfish and materialistic wishes of many strangers, Kazumasa continues to be charitable with his fortune. Hiroshi invests Kazumasa’s money wisely and constantly multiplies his wealth, allowing Kazumasa to keep giving and giving. In this way, “Many people stopped referring to Kazumasa as the Japanese Santa Claus and began to call him the Japanese Robin Hood” (72).
Chico waits in a long line to speak with Kazumasa. Once they meet, Chico presents the letter he received from Lourdes, which delights Kazumasa. Kazumasa then takes Chico to meet Rubens. Chico immediately recognizes Rubens from his dreams and believes “This was the magic of the God-given mind, greater than TV, as Mané Pena had said” (74). The moment is sweet, but to complete Lourdes’ prayer, Chico must set out yet again, back to the Matacão.
Rubens declares he’s going too, along with his pigeon. The adults refuse to let him go, knowing he is physically incapable of the arduous journey. Chico offers to take Ruben’s pigeon to the Matacão for him. Once released there, it will be the first pigeon to fly all the way from the Matacão to São Paulo. Batista and Tania hear the news and decide to participate. Tania sends Batista with a truck of pigeons to follow Chico to the Matacão.
Chapter 14 Summary: "Karaoke"
Kazumasa becomes progressively disillusioned seeing the suffering of so many. He gives and gives but finds the needs of the many to be limitless: “Kazumasa began to feel the hopelessness of a wealthy man whose giving was eternal and, therefore, whose vision of suffering would also be eternal” (76). Meanwhile, Hiroshi continues to invest for Kazumasa. Unknown to Kazumasa himself, he becomes the majority stockholder of the GGG company.
Kazumasa passes the evenings at Hiroshi’s karaoke bars. Despite his usual tepidness, Kazumasa enjoys performing amongst tipsy patrons. However, Kazumasa’s notoriety and the presence of the ball floating above his head make it hard for him to remain incognito. Strangers accost him at the karaoke bars, so Hiroshi installs a karaoke system in Kazumasa’s shower. Always business-savvy, Hiroshi markets and sells the same karaoke shower system to other would-be singers. Kazumasa is thankful, and proud of his cousin, but can’t shake his melancholy: “It was beginning to feel much like traveling around in the Tokyo Yamanote circular train again. The sad stories began to run together, everyone getting off at the same stops with the same desires” (78).
J.B. discovers Kazumasa is GGG’s new majority stockholder and invites him to visit the company on the Matacão. Kazumasa expresses little interest, but J.B. insists. Kazumasa and the ball prepare for the trip, and Lourdes walks with them to the elevator of the apartment building. Kazumasa looks at Lourdes and feels a pleasantness he can’t quite articulate. He knows Hiroshi loves Lourdes and thinks they’ll make a good couple. Simultaneously, Lourdes decides she can’t wait any longer. She’s going to tell Kazumasa she loves him. She moves to speak, but the elevator closes before she can express her feelings.
Chapter 15 Summary: "Prendas Domesticas"
With Batista gone, Tania enjoys a new sense of freedom. She loves her husband but is happy to have distance from his jealousy: “She missed Batista, but she was not going to let his absence spoil her vacation from him” (80). While Tania’s mother takes care of the pigeons, Tania excels at the business side of things. She sees great moneymaking potential for their pigeon venture and strikes a marketing deal with the Pomba Soap Company, a prominent business in Brazil.
Meanwhile, Batista drives his truck of pigeons to the Matacão. Throughout the trip, Batista releases some of the pigeons to gauge their strength and accuracy. He passes Chico Paco, who draws crowds and onlookers. Batista reaches the Matacão and waits to release the rest of his birds once Chico catches up.
To Batista’s surprise, another truck arrives at the Matacão first, sent by Tania. The truck carries additional pigeons. Unlike Batista’s truckload, these birds carry advertisements for the Pomba Soap Company. In a letter, Tania tells Batista she misses him, and informs him of the deal she made with Pomba. Flustered, “Batista pulled at his hair. What was that woman doing anyway? You just don’t go and make a deal with one of the largest soap companies in the county!” (83). Confused, and left with many questions, Batista stands on the Matacão with two trucks of pigeons.
Chapter 16 Summary: "The Matacão"
The ball breaks away from recounting the story of the main characters and details the history of the Matacão. Numerous theories abound concerning the Matacão’s origin: it was created by an ancient civilization, the CIA, God, aliens, and so on. Various companies and entities negotiate with the Brazilian government to study the strange phenomenon. Brazilian politicians strive to be careful with who they grant access to the Matacão and its potential resources. The ball points out the historical significance:
Brazil had once before emptied its wealthy gold mines into the coffers of the Portuguese Crown and consequently financed the Industrial Revolution in England. This time, if there was any wealth to be had, it had better remain in Brazil (85).
Studies continue and scientists discover the Matacão is solid plastic. With advanced technology, they finally extract a piece of the Matacão’s surface. Further tests show the Matacão plastic is practically indestructible and, somehow, magnetic. This mysterious magnetism explains why Chico Paco’s shrine of Saint George couldn’t be moved in Chapter 8. What effect the magnetic properties could have on the rest of the world remains unclear, “The questions seemed endless and fraught with speculation and wonder and outright fear” (86). Nevertheless, people from around the world continue to visit the Matacão and the surrounding forest. The environment proves to be harsh, and the tourists flee to the nearby hotels. Quickly, they miss the comforts of the modern world.
Stranger yet, a peculiar parking lot is found on the perimeter of the Matacão. Abandoned vehicles litter the area. At one end lies a pit of toxic sludge, vehicles slipping in. Even more disturbing, animals have mutated to survive amongst the wreckage. There are butterflies the color of rust, mice with suction-cup feet and arsenic-laced blood, and strange new birds capable of eating the poisonous mice. Warring groups of monkeys take refuge in the abandoned bombers and fight over territory. International news outlets release articles, written in cold, detached tones: “All this was naturally being documented in the authoritative and measured tones of NHK, PBS, and BBC” (89). Despite the oddities and mystery, the public uses Matacão for concerts, fundraisers, weddings, and numerous other events.
Part 3, Chapters 12-16 Analysis
Part 3 is titled "More Development" and increases the tension and intrigue of the plot lines. J.B.—who has been relegated to New York up to this point—finally arrives in Brazil. His resources and determination immediately impact his new setting and the other characters. GGG becomes an established presence on the Matacão and uses its financial power to gain a dominant lead in the feather market. Mané’s life drastically changes as well, becoming a lecturer and even getting an office. Parts I and II showed what J.B. is capable of, and Part 3 releases him onto the rest of the story. J.B.’s arrival also develops Yamashita’s cautionary message about corporate greed and environmentalism. J.B. doesn’t invest in the local community when he gets to the Matacão, instead flying in an office and staff, showing he only seeks to take from Brazil. As noted in Chapter 16, this is exactly what some Brazilian politicians fear, putting J.B. and Brazil at odds.
Chapter 16 also details the strange history of the Matacão. The mutating animals and toxic sludge suggest that the characters should approach Matacão with caution. Scientists know the Matacão is a type of plastic, but they understand little else, and yet people from around the world use it as a decoration for celebrations. In Part 3, J.B. and others act selfishly and without understanding of the world around. As the novel is only halfway through, the consequences of these decisions remain unclear for now.
Kazumasa’s resolve wavers as well. He became rich and happily gave away his money in Part 2, but in Part 3, his good intentions don’t always lead to the intended results. The suffering Kazumasa wants to see end can’t be solved by simply throwing money at the problem, and it takes his own failure for him to begin to realize that. Additionally, Kazumasa remains clueless when it comes to love. When Kazumasa leaves to meet J.B., the ball narrates “He looked beyond me at Lourdes, her dark shining eyes pressed upon him with all the love she could muster. What was it about this woman?” (79). In the same scene, Lourdes even feels “she could wait no longer for this man to come to his senses” (79). For as admirable a person as Kazumasa is, Part 3 shows him failing. He hits new low points that give him the space to learn and change.
Part 3 pulls back the curtain on some of the magical elements, but it still leaves mystery and unanswered questions. Chapter 16 explains why the bulldozer couldn’t move Chico’s shrine; the cement Chico made stuck to the Matacão like a powerful magnet. The properties of the Matacão—how it formed and why it’s magnetic—remain unclear, maintaining a magical realist element, as opposed to giving a scientific explanation.
Regarding Gilberto, the section foreshadows his ending. In Chapter 13, Chico reflects on playing with Gilberto, and of Gilberto using handmade wings to try to glide off dunes: “‘I can’t walk, Chiquinho,’ Gilberto explained. ‘But I will fly!’” (74). At the end of the story, Gilberto flies out of a cannon. Yamashita has previously used the ball to foreshadow events, and here, she shows her willingness to drop hints in dialogue and memories to allude to what will occur next.
