Character Analysis
The Accountant
Although he only appears in the novel for a short time, the Accountant is an important figure because he personifies the Company's goals and methods. The fact that he spends his days with his ledger in the middle of the jungle suggests the great importance the Company places on profits. Moreover, his immaculately white and spotless dress suggests the Company's desire to seem "morally spotless" to the rest of the world. When a dying man is brought into his hut, the Accountant complains, "The groans of this sick person distract my attention. And without that it is extremely difficult to guard against clerical errors in this climate." Like the Company, the Accountant wants men to die out of eyesight so he can focus his "attention" on preventing "clerical errors." Sickness and death are inevitable parts of business, and if one dwells on them they are liable to "distract" him from his main purpose: Tallying the profits. Ironically, these profits are supposed to be used to help the natives that the Company is destroying.
The Accountant also hints at the great hatred that the Whites have for the natives, as well as the fact that there are agents at the Central Station who will do anything to further their own careers.