In the Jungle of Cities

Main Characters and Their Development

• Georg Gibb is a modest clerk whose unremarkable appearance conceals inner resilience and profound humanity. His journey is a tragic search for self-worth in a world where emotions and principles clash with the relentless logic of city life. In his confrontation with Shlink, Gibb discovers unexpected strengths within himself, but pays for it with loneliness and inner turmoil, gradually losing faith in the possibility of harmony.
• Shlink is a mysterious Malay timber merchant, embodying the untamed force of the foreign and the misunderstood. His actions are driven less by greed than by a desire to test the limits of human will. In his duel with Gibb, not only cruelty emerges, but also a strange, almost mystical urge to understand the other, ultimately leading to the destruction of both.
• Mary Gibb is Georg's sister, whose fate becomes hostage to the conflict between the two men. Her character symbolizes vulnerability and purity, which the urban forces mercilessly break, turning her into a victim of others' passions and ambitions.
• Jane Larsen is Gibb's beloved, embodying a fragile hope for happiness and peace. Her feelings are put to the test, and she becomes both witness and participant in a tragedy where love proves powerless in the face of chaos.
• Meyer is Gibb's friend and companion, whose loyalty and common sense cannot save the hero from ruin. His role is a reminder that even in the darkest jungles of the city, support is possible, though not always salvific.