Annihilation

by

Jeff VanderMeer

The Lighthouse Keeper Character Analysis

The biologist finds a picture in the lighthouse of an older man, whom she assumes was the lighthouse keeper before the Event that created the border around Area X. At the end of the book, when the biologist encounters the Crawler for the second time, she realizes that the Crawler has the face of the lighthouse keeper.
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The Lighthouse Keeper Character Timeline in Annihilation

The timeline below shows where the character The Lighthouse Keeper appears in Annihilation. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 3
The Sublime vs. The Mundane Theme Icon
Nature, Power, and Persistence Theme Icon
...eye and a thick beard. To the biologist, it seems like this man was the lighthouse keeper . In the photo, the lighthouse looks to be in good repair, and she wonders... (full context)
Chapter 4
The Sublime vs. The Mundane Theme Icon
Nature, Power, and Persistence Theme Icon
...transcribes the words in the Tower with a few scribbled notes—including one that says, “ lighthouse keeper .” She is glad the psychologist did this work so she wouldn’t have to examine... (full context)
Chapter 5
The Sublime vs. The Mundane Theme Icon
Nature, Power, and Persistence Theme Icon
...and risks one more glance back; she sees, barely visible, the face of a man—the lighthouse keeper . He has an expression of unending pain and sorrow, but also a look of... (full context)
Objectivity vs. Subjectivity Theme Icon
...Tower, too exhausted to move, but happy in the morning sun. She pulls out the lighthouse keeper ’s photo, needing to know that he wasn’t simply an apparition. She thinks about the... (full context)
Nature, Power, and Persistence Theme Icon
The biologist tries to construct a narrative about the lighthouse keeper , who perhaps saw the Event that created Area X and its borders. What manifested... (full context)
Nature, Power, and Persistence Theme Icon
...to leave the materials with her husband’s journal close to the trapdoor. She replaces the lighthouse keeper ’s photograph, along with a second circle around his face. If the hints in the... (full context)