Heater is Eleanor's "main guardian" and Karim's rival for her affection. He's extremely fat and ugly and though he's a road sweeper, he gets tickets to most of the London productions. Heater represents the hardworking proletariat to most of the higher-class individuals offering tickets. Because of this, Karim notes that it's important to pretend to appreciate Heater's opinion to avoid looking like an elitist.
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Heater Character Timeline in The Buddha of Suburbia
The timeline below shows where the character Heater appears in The Buddha of Suburbia. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 2, Chapter 11
...refuses to have sex with him. Karim realizes that his rival is a man named Heater, a Scot whose purpose in life appears to be to try to ensure Eleanor's happiness....
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One night when Heater is out, Karim and Eleanor watch TV and gossip. Karim is distracted and not listening,...
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Part 2, Chapter 12
...his acting career; he knows no other "black" people and fears Pyke will fire him. Heater is coming out of Eleanor's door as Karim arrives and insists that Karim must leave,...
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Part 2, Chapter 15
...her, but she just compliments his performance. They walk together until she points out that Heater is also following Karim. When Heater threatens Karim, Karin rushes at him and head butts...
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