The Anthropophagi: Symbol
The Anthropophagi are a powerful symbol of death and destruction. They are cannibals who hunt and eat human beings with the express purpose of wiping them off the face of the Earth (and for pleasure). They are the antagonists of the novel and inflict tremendous pain and carnage on the town Will and Dr. Warthorpe live and work in.
Monstrumologist: Symbol
Dr. Warthrope is a monstrumologist, or a person that studies and hunts monsters. The monstrumologist is a powerful symbol in the religion of avenging things that went wrong and contending with evil things and people in the world (much like avenging angels).
Will's parents home: Symbol
Will's parent's home, which burned down in a very strange fire, is symbolic of Will's life: unstable and rife with violence and unpleasantness. When Will's parents’ home burned down, killing them both, his life was radically changed, which led him to Dr. Warthrope.
Death: Motif
Death is a fairly significant motif in the novel. The novel opens with the deaths of Will's parents. Beyond that, several other people (and Anthropophagi) die over the course of the novel. Death is crucially important because it creates conflict in the novel and creates a very tense and violent mood.
David and Goliath: Allegory
The Monstrumologist is an allegory and a David and Goliath story. Will, Dr. Warthrope, and their two friends go head-to-head with a seemingly endless number of Anthropophagi monsters, one of whom could kill each of the men and feed on them if given the opportunity. In trying to stop the monsters, Will and his friends have very few resources and face seemingly insurmountable odds against an enemy. The novel is a morality lesson: proverbial little people with few resources who face seemingly insurmountable odds are able to contend with an all-powerful enemy.
