Author's Life Allegory
The book is said to be semi-autobiographical and the story is actually an allegory of the childhood of the author Pat Conroy. The main characters, Ben and Bull Meecham, are based on Conroy and his father and the allegory was so accurate that his real-life father actually stopped speaking to his son because he had made their story so public. The allegory is both factual in terms of childhood events and emotional in that it allegorizes the complex relationship between father and son.
Great Santini Symbol
Bull gives himself the nickname "The Great Santini". This symbolizes two things; firstly, that he thinks of himself in the third person which suggests a certain degree of grandiosity in his character. Secondly it symbolizes the way in which he puts himself as senior to others who are not categorically a higher military rank than he is. The name symbolizes the license he feels that it gives him to treat everyone else as subordinates.
Tidied Bedrooms Symbol
The Meecham children were ordered to tidy their rooms every Saturday and stand for inspection. This was a symbol of Bull's inability to separate his home life from his military life and his tendency to treat everyone as if they were in the military.
Military Motif
There is a military motif throughout the book and also throughout Bull's life because his identity is totally wrapped up in his rank and his position leading naval troops. He is in the military and has a storied career. His entire family live where his career takes them and so the military governs their lives as well. He also treats civilian life as if it is military life and his tendency to bark orders to his kids as if they are his young soldiers extends this motif. Ben also feels that it is this military outlook from his father that makes it hard to bond with him and also means that he fears him and his autocratic manner. Lastly Bull is killed whilst carrying out basic military operations.
Bullying Motif
One of the key motifs in the novel is bullying, and it is shown on many levels. The main bullying motif is shown through the relationship between Ben and Bull, as Ben feels that Bull is a bully, and that he is impossible to please or even to prevent from acting in an emotionally abusive manner. However there is also bullying that does not pertain to the father son relationship. Ben sees much bullying occurring at school and despite the fact that he has a gateway into the popular jock set by virtue of the fact he is on the varsity basketball team, he decides to reach out to the very outsider kids that his team-mates bully. His sister is also bullied because she doesn't have a prom dress. Lastly his "girlfriend" Ansley is being bullied by her father to date Ben, because he hates her actual boyfriend who is a football jock. Her boyfriend also bullies Ashley if he thinks she is so much as looking at another boy and ultimately he and Ben get into a fight because of this.
