Keeper

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of alcohol dependency and human and animal death.

“The big man standing at the window found it easy enough to imagine himself a hawk coasting over the grid of buildings and the drifting white and red lights of the traffic.”

The first description of Gato, standing by the window waiting for the interview, immediately introduces both The Importance of Nature and the role that animals play in Gato’s life. By this point, he has already planned to retire and return to the village and work toward saving the forest; his desire to be a hawk and fly above the city—instead of doing the interview—emphasizes his connection to nature.

“It was not very beautiful. From where Faustino was sitting, it looked rather like an alien with an oversize bald head. And every soccer player in the world wanted it. The World Cup. It burned in the lamplight.”

Faustino’s thoughts looking at the World Cup introduce the idea of how truly unimportant the cup is as a physical object. However, it also introduces the theme of The Power of Sports: While the physical trophy may be unimportant, what it symbolizes—victory, camaraderie, the nation—is vital to millions of fans and players worldwide.

“I’d never really thought about the fact that I was living in a small space hacked from the jungle.”

Gato’s thoughts when he first quits soccer and explores the jungle characterize who he is at the start. The fact that he had never considered what his village is—a space “hacked” out of nature—shows how ignorant he is of the natural world in the beginning of the text.