Transcendence
What is transcendence? It is a state of being at a higher level of consciousness which must be sought not within the spoiled remnants of the earthly realm, but some place higher. But that is neither here not there: it also where one of the book’s many uses of darkness as metaphor steps into the light. Darkness as metaphor is rife throughout post-19 century literature. Some novels briefly touched upon it while are steeped in the concept:
“Transcendence seekers have been passing through the reservation in tattered campers bearing Tibetan prayer flags. They are often looking for protection, or fleeing, and have put a burden on the militia. It is difficult to sort the mere yearning from the darkness that some of them bring.”
Mystery
Darkness shows up again in the face of the man who wants to marry the narrator. A perfectly rational reason exists for the pervasiveness of darkness as metaphor in this book: it is a portrait of a very dark vision of America. Worse: it is a dark vision that itself no longer exists as pure metaphor. Everywhere around people in the America existing shortly after publication of this novel are those like Phil: people whose eyes reveal am ambiguity within:
“His face changes and he slides down my body until he’s kneeling on the floor with his face pressed against my belly. He looks up at me, the light warm on his bones. His eyes are full of darkness.”
Visceral Similes
The simile need not be palpable to work its magic. The comparison between two things which bring about familiarity is usually enough. Still, infusing the comparison with a visceral quality of imagery that makes it comparison something that can almost be seen or touch or tasted make it all the more powerful:
“He looks down at his feet. Speaks to the floor like a sullen teenager. He smells like sullen teen too—rancid sweat, old clothes, gasoline.”
A Lot of Guns
Phil—the kid with the darkness in his eyes—has just explained his prolonged absence is due to the purchase of an abundance of firearms. This admission hits the narrator with all the emotional power of…well, she says it herself:
“The thing about the guns is just incomprehensible. It’s as if Phil told me he had a rhinoceros on a leash out there. My family has never owned a gun or had one in the house”
The Baby
The narrator is pregnant. The delivery is imminent. The story hinges on the possibility of the delivery revealing strains of genetic mutation. This the world in which the narrator lives and fears. But the baby is delivered and simile and metaphor collide to produce promise and hope:
“You were blue, just a slight tinge. As you breathed you turned pinker and redder and the soft fuzz that covered your skin began to glow like copper…You stared at me, holding on with an implacable strength, and I looked into the soul of the world.”
