I Am the Messenger

I Am the Messenger

by

Markus Zusak

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on I Am the Messenger makes teaching easy.
Along with Daryl, Keith is a hitman whom the man with the cards sends to challenge Ed at different points in Ed’s mission. Keith does not know who the man with the cards is; he just does what the man tells him to do. Ed first meets Daryl and Keith when they assault him inside his home at the beginning of the novel. Both Daryl and Keith are argumentative with each other and with Ed. Keith’s role in the mission shows how powerful the man with the cards is.
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Keith Character Timeline in I Am the Messenger

The timeline below shows where the character Keith appears in I Am the Messenger. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
2 of Clubs: The Visit
Circumstance vs. Choice Theme Icon
Hope, Caring, and Beauty Theme Icon
Daryl and Keith decide the time has come for them to leave, so they take find Ed’s gun... (full context)
3 of Clubs: The Envelope
Circumstance vs. Choice Theme Icon
Heroism, Sainthood, and Ordinariness Theme Icon
...he did well with the last assignment, and that the letter writer knows Daryl and Keith told Ed about knowing the abusive man is not dead. The writer compliments Ed on... (full context)
6 of Clubs: The Stones
Hope, Caring, and Beauty Theme Icon
...the young man stares at him angrily. Ed asks him if he knows Daryl and Keith and the young man threatens him in response. They drive down to the river. (full context)
Ace of Spades: The Game
Purpose, Success, and Meaning Theme Icon
Hope, Caring, and Beauty Theme Icon
...is sleeping on his couch when he hears knocking at the door and assumes it’s Keith and Daryl. Marv walks in. He asks Ed how he got injured. Ed says he... (full context)
9 of Spades: The Woman
Purpose, Success, and Meaning Theme Icon
Hope, Caring, and Beauty Theme Icon
...Ed was not the only one receiving missions. He wonders if that man, Daryl, and Keith are also receiving instructions from an outside source. (full context)
Queen of Spades: The Bell Street Theater
Circumstance vs. Choice Theme Icon
Purpose, Success, and Meaning Theme Icon
Hope, Caring, and Beauty Theme Icon
...who told him he was coming, and after a little bit of questioning, he determines Keith and Daryl visited the theater before him. The man tells Ed that when he is... (full context)
4 of Hearts: To Feel the Fear
Circumstance vs. Choice Theme Icon
Hope, Caring, and Beauty Theme Icon
...are hard to recognize without their face masks, but he suspects they are Daryl and Keith. Ed fears they are going to beat him up again, but Daryl hands him a... (full context)
Hope, Caring, and Beauty Theme Icon
Ed, Daryl, and Keith joke around with each other until the light goes off in Ritchie’s kitchen. Ed laments... (full context)
Joker: The End is Not the End
Circumstance vs. Choice Theme Icon
Ed finds Daryl and Keith standing next to his father’s grave. Keith says Ed is so similar to his father... (full context)
Circumstance vs. Choice Theme Icon
Heroism, Sainthood, and Ordinariness Theme Icon
Ed asks Daryl and Keith how they knew he would be at the cemetery at this exact time. They say... (full context)
Joker: The Folder
Circumstance vs. Choice Theme Icon
Heroism, Sainthood, and Ordinariness Theme Icon
Purpose, Success, and Meaning Theme Icon
Hope, Caring, and Beauty Theme Icon
...killed Ed’s father, as well as organized the failed bank robbery and sent Daryl and Keith to beat Ed up. He says he did all this because Ed was completely ordinary,... (full context)