Character Analysis Of Keiiro In The Fisher

Throughout this portion of the novel, the character Keiro can best be described as arrogant or impulsive and ruthless or uncaring. The first characteristic that can be used to describe him is arrogant or impulsive. Keiro displays these characteristics multiple times throughout the entire novel and in many situations. The first being when he fought the leader of the Comitatus, Jormanric, just to prove he was better than him. He battled the greatest man within the colony even though he was both smaller and weaker than Jormanric was. This can be shown when the narrator states, “Keiro was fighting for his life. He was young and fit, but Jormanric was twice his weight, old in warcraft, berserk with a battle frenzy that came on him rarely”(Fisher 124). One
can infer that the leader of the clan, is not someone who is challenged to a duel everyday. Even though Keiro was skilled, it still took a great of arrogance and confidence to stand up to Jornmanric in the first place. Keiro was beginning to feel egotistical and superior to this aging man, and because of it he almost lost his life. One can figure that Keiro has almost lost his life more than enough times because of his arrogance. Furthermore, Keiro displayed this trait when he thinks of himself as handsome and more gorgeous than anyone else within or outside of the Prison. From the beginning the reader could view how Keiro was the most liked, and everyone saw him as the most handsome man throughout the entire Prison. One can infer that this only fed Keiro’s arrogance, and as he grew and grew, he became more and more self-centered. He went from being an innocent boy in the Prison to a conceited man, who all he wanted was power and superiority. One example from the novel to further analyze this is “ They were the lowest of the low, enslaved and despised by the pure; men whom the Prison had repaired, sometimes cruelly, sometimes just on a whim. One, a dwarfish, bent man with wiry hair, didn't step out of the way fast enough. Keiro floored him with one blow”(Fisher 34). This shows just how above Keiro feels compared to everyone else. The irony of this situation is clear, seeming how the reader later finds out that Keiro is actually a halfman, such as the one he pushed over. The final way Keiro displays his impulsiveness is when he tried to fight his way through the Beast who could absorb everything, instead of thinking for a smarter way out of it that would confuse the monster. Keiro, fueled by his arrogance, acted solely on his self-confidence and acted without a forethought as to what he was doing. This did not only delay the time it took to destroy the monster, but it also almost killed Keiro and his companions in the process. One can infer Keiro acted out so swiftly because he believed that he was superior to the monster, and that no creature could defeat him. This was soon proven wrong, and almost cost him his life.
Besides being arrogant, Keiro has also displayed several traits that may lead the reader to believe he is ruthless and uncaring. He first displays these traits when he did not try to help Attia when she was dying of poison because he thought she would slow the entire group down. One can infer that any decent person would feel the need to help someone in trouble, no matter if they were a stranger or not. However, Keiro obviously does not carry this trait, seeming he was willing to let one of the members of his group die just to save time on their journey. This shows Keiro’s inability to give up even someone's life for what he believes in. The reader can figure that Keiro is not a person who someone could easily trust, especially in tight situations such as the one displayed in the novel. He was cruel and merciless towards Attia’s well being, and this allowed the reader to view Keiro’s true side. Furthermore, Keiro cares for no one, but himself and Finn. Even though he cares for Finn, it is only because he is his oathbrother and they swore a vow to each other when they were united. Keiro’s unwillingness to care for another was shown throughout the entire
novel. One can infer that a reason why he may have had trouble truly caring for anyone that he was not bound to, like Finn, is because he was a halfman. This meant that he was a creation of the Prison, and was not truly born from a real person. This shows that one of the reasons he was incapable of showing sympathy towards someone else was because he was more machine than man. The final way that displays Keiro’s cold-hearted characteristic was shown when he thought only of himself while the group was trying to decide who would be the one to travel to the Outside. Keiro clearly did not care about the right way to approach the situation, instead, he approached it with a sudden urgency and careless act of trying to leave by himself. He even fought with Finn, the one person he somewhat cared for, over the Key so that he could finally escape the madness he was living in. This shows the reader to what extent he is willing to go to so that he may escape, even if it meant harming some of his closest friends. Overall, Keiro is a ruthless man who in no way should be trusted, and acts with no sense of purpose or meaning. Ultimately, Keiro can best be characterized as arrogant or impulsive and ruthless or uncaring.