Kite was once the head of the Brighton gang that Pinkie now runs. Killed with a razor blade by Colleoni’s mob while waiting alone at a railway station, Kite was like a father to Pinkie. The other members of the gang looked up to him as well. Kite’s death left Pinkie in charge. It also made Hale a target, as Hale’s newspaper story allegedly led to Kite’s murder.
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Kite Character Timeline in Brighton Rock
The timeline below shows where the character Kite appears in Brighton Rock. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part II, Chapter 1
...they’d been having a secret meeting without him. They’ve been talking about how, ever since Kite’s death, several men, including Tate and Brewer, haven’t been paying their protection subscriptions. Dallow is...
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...Dallow is happy to. Pinkie is surprised by Brewer’s poverty. He thinks to himself that Kite must have been skimming some off of Brewer’s earnings. Pinkie asks Brewer why he hasn’t...
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Part II, Chapter 2
...at first who he is because he is so young. He had been expecting someone Kite’s age. There’s a wet spot on Pinkie’s freshly ironed jacket. Pinkie is embarrassed. Colleoni hopes...
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...impressed to see that Colleoni’s cigar case is real gold. Colleoni asks what happened to Kite, and Pinkie grows vague, saying that it’s an old story, but that Kite would not...
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...of hand that his life and Pinkie’s could intersect, but Pinkie remembers what happened to Kite and knows that their lives already have.
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Part III, Chapter 1
...Mr. Colleoni is. The barman is incredulous. Everyone knows Mr. Colleoni. He was involved in Kite’s death. Ida has another port and asks who Kite is. The barman tells her that...
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Part III, Chapter 2
...appearance has changed radically since Spicer last saw him, when he and the rest of Kite’s gang ran him out of town. He has had his Jewish characteristics erased. His nose...
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Part IV, Chapter 1
...should repent now, but he doesn’t have the energy for it. He is reminded of Kite’s attack and of accompanying him to the hospital. He thinks of making peace, of going...
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...shoe. He tells himself this is just a setback. He is still the head of Kite’s gang. He will make one confession and be done with it. He walks to Snow’s...
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Part V, Chapter 1
...murder of Hale, a dirty little journalist who got mixed up with Colleoni and got Kite killed, might have been a mistake. It no longer seems worth the trouble. Dallow reassures...
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Part VI, Chapter 1
...out that he’s never liked killing; carving is okay but killing is different. He mentions Kite and tells Ida how that was all an accident; a razor slipped. Then he mentions...
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Part VI, Chapter 2
Pinkie wishes Kite were here instead of Dallow—he could talk to Kite—but if Kite were still alive, he...
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...motion reminds Pinkie of killing Spicer and the whole chain of events that began with Kite’s death and shows no sign of ending. Rose points to a girl in the crowd...
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...the new kid. He’s sick with fear that he’ll be mocked and rejected, but then Kite appears and, for the moment, he is not alone. Kite gives him a razor and...
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Part VII, Chapter 5
...saying he hears Cubitt, and Pinkie remembers the first time he came to Frank’s with Kite, back before Rose, when everything was clearer and easier.
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Part I, Chapter 1
...be and when. A poor man sells razor blades on the corner, reminding Hale that Kite, a Brighton mob boss, was killed with one.
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