The burning sky
The book begins with the description of the sky as it looked during the night when Anton's parents were murdered. During that fateful night, many houses were set on fire and as such the sky appeared illuminated. This image is often invoked by the narrator throughout the story because it marks the beginning of Anton's quest for finding the truth.
Ditches filled with corpses
During the long trek from Germany to Amsterdam, Anton and the soldier passed by endless corpses in various states of decay, left carelessly by the end of the road. Anton is initially shocked at seeing these gruesome sights but he quickly gets accustomed to them and they no longer represent something unusual. The image of the corpses is important here because it portrays the horrors of the war and also the fact that everyone can be affected by it and fall victim to its violence, be it civilians or soldiers.
Amsterdam
The scenery and the general atmosphere changes drastically once Anton and the soldier pass the border between Germany and the Netherlands and find themselves closer and closer to Amsterdam. The villages and cities are described as being quiet and painted as being untouched by the horrors of war. The narrator for instance fixates on the flowers growing on the fields and the lack of dead human bodies in the ditches. The reason why this image is important is that it shows the way in which normal human life should be. The fact that Anton saw this as strange points out the fact that his childhood was an extremely traumatic and harsh one.
The monument
In his adulthood, Anton returns back home to visit the site where he lived together with his parents. His childhood house was burnt to the ground and in that exact place, a statue was erected to commemorate the death of the innocent people killed during the same night that his parents die. The image of the monument is an important one and it brings Anton a sense of peace because it transmits the idea that the tragic event which took place was not ignored and that the responsible people were held accountable for their actions.
