Arthur Sylvester
Unlike most novels, the primary symbolism in PKD's Eye in the Sky takes the form of his characters, each of which personifies a specific way of viewing the world, fitting in with PKD's preoccupation with the nature of subjective reality. Arthur Sylvester is perhaps the most obvious candidate for this personified symbolism, being an elderly conservative who seems to function 'normally' but whose interior mind is revealed to be warped and twisted. Sylvester represents blind religious fundamentalism: he believes in a regressive geocentric universe and a God of moralism who observes everything and cruelly punishes each person according to his sin with no room for mercy.
The Eye in the Sky
While trapped in the subjective reality of Arthur Sylvester's mind, the main characters observe the titular giant eye in the sky, albeit only briefly. This "Eye in the Sky" is a physically symbolic representation of Sylvester's twisted view of God, a heartless invigilator who performs much the same role as Big Brother in Orwell's 1984, watching everything and jumping at any chance to punish anyone for anything somewhat out of line.
Edith Pritchett
Another one of PKD's personified caricatures, Mrs. Pritchett is the embodiment of what is labeled "Victorian" morality in the present age, believing in the value of decency above all else and at the exclusion of everything she deems improper. This leads to a bleak, joyless world in which all sources of fun are removed, a grey reality that stems from the heavy-handed symbolism of the mind of Edith Pritchett.
The House in the Mind of Joan Reiss
One of the novel's most intriguing and reclusive characters, Joan Reiss is a woman who seems normal enough on the outside, but her mind is suddenly revealed to be utterly and absolutely paranoid when the characters enter her subconscious. Of primary interest in her subjective reality is a particular house, which Hamilton and the others enter out of a desire for safety, but which turns on them and attempts to kill them as an almost anthropomorphized enemy. The house symbolizes the extreme paranoia of Ms. Reiss: everything could be trying to kill you, even your own home.
Bill Laws
The novel's sole important African-American character, Bill Laws becomes a symbol almost by that virtue alone. A bit progressive for his time, PKD is clearly using Laws as a symbolic invective against the racism of the 1950s. Laws has an advanced degree in physics, but instead of using his gifted mind in the scientific field, he has been relegated to the tour guide of the Bevatron. A PhD holder working as a tour guide is a clear and cruel irony, and the way Hamilton works with Laws at the novel's end to create a technology company implies the conciliatory course of action PKD recommends concerning these racial issues.
