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LITERARY DEVICES

CHARACTER FOILS

  • Guy and Bruno display close resemblance to each other despite their contrasting backgrounds. Guy comes from more humble socioeconomic roots while Bruno has a wealthier background. Although both characters have close relationships with their mothers, Guy’s father died a long time ago, while Bruno maintains an antagonistic relationship with his father. In comparison to Bruno, Guy is more intellectual, realistic, and prudent. Bruno, on the other hand, is impulsive, emotional, and cynical. Bruno is everything that Guy despises, ultimately demonstrating that they are the exact opposite of each other.Their differences establish a sense of balance, which is maintained throughout the story.

 

 

SYMBOLS

  • Water

    • The water represents a temporary leave from reality. On the boat, many significant events of the story occur. For example, Bruno follows Miriam in a boat and ends up killing her at the carnival. In addition, Guy goes on his boat often and enjoys sailing. Finally, the most substantial event is when Bruno falls off the boat and ends up dying. This represents one's punishment for doing wrong deeds, and in the end, the person must go through a rebirth. For example, Miriam cheated on Guy and Bruno had the initial plan to kill Miriam. Therefore, these two were punished for their deeds, and will go through a process of rebirth. This can also represent how Guy wants to sail away from reality because of the inner turmoil he receives from murdering Bruno’s father, and living with the guilt.

  • Train

    • The train is where Guy and Bruno first meet and is the foundation of the novel. It emphasizes how a chance encounter can develop into something that is much more serious. It is also interesting to note that the train tracks always intersect with others, ultimately representing how Guy and Bruno’s lives were initially non-interfering, but eventually crosses several times and develop into an involved relationship. Train tracks always come around, which symbolizes how Guy and Bruno have a circulatory relationship, always back and forth, with no endpoints.

 

  • Pearl Gun

    • Although beautiful in appearance, the pearl gun is still deadly and can be an extremely dangerous weapon. The pearl gun symbolizes how looks can be deceiving and that one’s true self is always buried under layers and layers of hypocrisy. Guy had this gun for about fifteen years, and he mostly bought it for the purpose of his admiration for its beauty. However, even though he bought it for his appearance, he finally realizes that the pearl gun is capable of killing and harming others.The gun is similar to Guy. Although Guy appears calm, controlled, handsome, and respected on the outside, he possesses an inner desire to kill other people. Furthermore, the gun also represents Guy’s guilt as he is unable to dispense the gun after his crime. The gun stays with Guy just like his guilt.

  • White Bridge

    • The building the white bridge symbolizes Guy’s career as it is his ultimate goal as an architect. The fact that the bridge is white demonstrates how before meeting Bruno, Guy is pure and has not developed any false thoughts relating to murder. The bridge is described as having “a span like an angel’s wing,” ultimately highlighting Guy’s innocence and his benevolent nature (211). The bridge can also be interpreted as the pathway to freedom because bridges usually help one cross obstacles and move on. The fact that Guy ultimately chooses to go to jail to repent his guilt over an offer to build a white bridge of his dreams symbolizes both his lost of his personal freedom and the corruption of his moral conscience.

  • Colors

    • The three main colors in the novel are white, purple, and brown. Highsmith mostly associates the color white with Anne, which represents her innocence in viewing the world. Anne continues to view Guy as a kind person while he feels guilty for murdering Bruno’s father, therefore remaining in her innocent state of mind. The color white also associates Anne with a Christ figure, because she serves as Guy’s sanity.

    • Highsmith associates the color purple with Guy through his purple gloves and his purple revolver case. Purple is a color that historically represented royalty, which relates to hopefully strong morals of the ruling class. Highsmith’s connection between Guy and the color purple evidences his strong morals and the guilt that eats away at him after committing murder.

    • Highsmith associates the color brown with Bruno through his brown suits. Historically, brown was associated with the peasants of society, therefore stereotypically having the weakest morals. Weak morals are apparent in Bruno because he easily kills Miriam without remorse and does not feel guilty for pressuring Guy into committing a murder he did not initially agree to.

POINT OF VIEW

The point of view in the novel is unique in the aspect that the narrator seems to be simply third-person omniscient; however, the narration ventures deep into the thoughts, feelings, and motives of Guy and Bruno, to the extent that it intimately reflects the minds of Guy and Bruno respectively. What makes this point of view even more unique is that all of the “he”s (referring to the character in focus) could be replaced with “I”s, changing the novel’s narration to first-person, and still allowing it to flow beautifully.

ALLUSIONS

  • Biblical allusions are prominent in the novel. The first major allusion is to the devil because Bruno is the “Devil” figure in the novel. Bruno is constantly referred to as the reason that Guy is able to commit murder therefore playing the role of the devil through pushing others to commit sins. Directly relating to Bruno as a devil figure is Guy as the “Eve” figure. Guy takes part in a very sinful act that Bruno, the devil, pressured him into. Guy’s internal judgement of his actions is present, yet he continues to follow Bruno and eventually commits the murder Bruno pushed him into. Furthermore, Anne is the “Christ” figure in the novel. She is connected with the color white and her purity is constantly brought up. She serves as a person Guy can confide in to regain his sanity, and thinking of her prevents him from committing sins.

OEDIPUS COMPLEX

  • In regards to psychology in the novel, Bruno and his relationship with his father, or ‘Captain,’ embodies the Oedipus Complex. ­Bruno has a rivalry with his father and hopes to replace his father in his family, saving not only his own life but his mother’s life because he wishes to liberate her and grant her freedom from the Captain’s grasp. ­Bruno’s father is called the ‘Captain’ because of his controlling nature and desire to be in charge of the family. ­The Oedipus Complex explains his unusual relationship with his mom and provides insight on Bruno’s mentality.

Rana Andary     Anam Chaudhary     Evan Cui     Julie Kim     Jessica Zhao 

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