Mythology v. Tangibility
The quest undertaken into the Place of the Gods is a trek across not just geographical space, but through the consciousness of history and knowledge and ignorance. As the odyssey unfolds, many of the truths that were naturally accepted as convention are revealed to be little more than myth. Forced into an experiential means of apprehending knowledge, the tangibility of the real world slowly eases the uncertain intangibility of mythology aside. The tangibility of this abstract theme is made manifest most directly by the hero’s desire to taste the foods of the dogs despite the risk that uncertainty entails.
The Two-Fold Aspect of Technological Progress
Technology and the progress in civilization it represent is presented as dual-edged sword in the story. Technology is symbolized both as an ever-present potential for devastation and as knowledge worth pursuing. That the actual technological cause of the apocalypse creating the barren wasteland that is the setting of the tale is only obliquely identified with the specific details left to the imagination is beside the point. In the wrong hands even the most mundane and benign technology can become a powerful weapon and the book makes it clear that the evil bringing on the apocalypse was the machinery, but the human running it. This realization allows the pursuit of progress to be viewed as a pursuit of knowledge for the preservation of the future.
Dangerous Crossings
Tribal law expressly forbids crossing certain boundaries to enter zones declared off-limits. The ideological and philosophical foundation for much of this has to do with the fear of the potential change to the status quo that might result from making contact with that which is unknown. The unknown on the side of the boundaries may be truly dangerous in a threatening sense, but they also may be dangerous in the sense of creating instability among a functioning society. The thematic underpinning here is that very often the only way to move forward is by risking entry into the abyss of the unknown and that such a risk can only be undertaken by those afraid neither of negative nor positive consequences of change.
