Light(ning) Imagery
The series is centered upon teenagers with electric powers. Understandably, imagery of light, lightning, and electricity occurs with relative frequency in the dialogue and descriptions. Michael is especially powerful, and he often uses his abilities to create balls of lightning, simultaneously creating wonderful opportunities for bad jokes and lightning puns.
The Mountain
Michael and Taylor are hiking up a mountain when Taylor complains that the good guys always have to fight an uphill battle. The imagery of the mountain accentuates her statement, emphasizing the uphill struggle of good against evil. Like reaching a mountain’s peak, however, there is an end and a triumph to the struggle.
The Monkey Cage
Hatch uses a monkey cage to torture and humiliate those who refuse to show him loyalty, such as the former prime minister (now “Prime Monkey”) of Tuvalu. The image of the monkey cage symbolizes more than mere punishment; it’s a reflection of Hatch’s evolutionary philosophy. He and his Glows are the future of humankind, the next step in evolution. His opponents, far from this advancement, are actually evolutionarily regressive; they are no more than primitive monkeys to him.
Chess
Hatch’s (and later, Quentin’s) metaphor of life as a game of chess brings an aspect of imagery; they view life as a strategy game, where the goal is dominance and self-preservation, and your objective, as the king, is to protect yourself and your allies. This imagery pervades the rest of the book as well; Hatch speaks of making Quentin “king” of Tuvalu, extending the metaphor to real life.
