The People in the Trees

Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses the sexual assault and rape of children, cultural appropriation, and colonialism.

Dr. Norton Perina is the protagonist and primary narrator of The People in the Trees. The novel itself is a fictionalized collection of his memoirs and other writings and resources that depict his life and earth-shaking discovery of possible immortality. It also provides an account of the allegations that ultimately imprisoned him and led to his disappearance. Plagued by narcissistic tendencies, Norton is an inherently unreliable narrator whose faulty perception compels him to compare himself to others and pass judgement on their choices, goals, and achievements. He values adventure and personal motivation: two qualities that he believes drive him toward success. Seeing his father’s lack of motivation at a young age drives him toward a different life in which he seeks adventure, and this drive ultimately leads him to the island of U’ivu in search of fame and glory. But even at the end of his life, his skewed self-perception and narcissism compel him to look down upon others, including his own children. He often blames his adopted children for his feelings of loneliness and of being trapped, and so he dehumanizes and abuses them physically, psychologically, and sexually.