Midland Pacific Railroad
The railway that Alfred used to be the head engineer for, Midpac, is a symbol for the old, midwestern way of life. The railway connected all of the small towns scattered throughout the country, filled with aging farmers and tradesmen. After Alfred retires, and the Wroth twins buy up the railway, they shut down the old St. Jude headquarters and much of the track connecting the small towns. Alfred’s old co-workers criticize them for only caring about money and not the values Midpac used to stand for. The evolution of the railway, from the symbol of an older and simpler time to the shiny new money-making corporation, symbolizes the changing of American values that comes with new generations.
Weddings
Enid’s long descriptions of weddings, the simple, pure, protestant affairs she loves so much, serve to highlight the disappointment she feels with her own children. After two and a-half pages describing the perfect midwestern wedding, pages 117-119, Denise’s elopement with her boss is mentioned. These contrasting stories show, in Enid’s mind, how disappointing her daughter turned out compared to the nice small-town girl she was supposed to be.
Aslan
Not only does Aslan show up in the story when Gary’s son, Jonah, is enthralled in the Chronicles of Narnia, but also ends up being another name for the drug Mexican A. In the first case, the Chronicles of Narnia and Aslan within them serves as a distraction for the 2nd grader from the tension and fighting going on in his family. In the second instance, Aslan is what Chip took during his affair with Melissa, causing it to block his conscience and ability to feel shame. Because of the drug, Chip was able to escape from his boring existence and let his desires overcome him, if only for a short while. In both cases, Aslan is a symbol of escape from everyday familial responsibilities.
St. Jude
St. Jude is the patron saint of lost causes, and also the name of the city where the main characters are from. This reference to the saint of lost causes is symbolic of the fact that Enid and Alfred’s old way of life, and the small town midwestern way of life as a whole, is coming to an end. It is, in a sense, a lost cause for them to continue trying to get their children to come visit there for Christmas.
Machinery
To show the physical and mental breaking down of Gary, a metaphor comparing him to machinery is used. “He felt as if, in his chest and his head, worn-out gears were falling off their axles, chewing into other parts of his internal machinery, as he demanded of his body a bravado, an undepressed energy, that it was simply not equipped to give.” (226) This comparison creates an image of a worn out, rusty machine, and serves to highlight Gary’s inability to continue coping with his family and his mental illness, hinting that he may be breaking down soon.
Food
“Chip went back to wrestling with the haddock filet, through the center of which ran a blood-brown fault of gristle that he was determined to cut out. But the fish had a starchy grain and was hard to get a grip on" (97). Franzen uses food as symbols frequently throughout The Corrections. In this case, the fault running through the haddock represents a fault within Chip himself that he's unable to remove.
