The Celebration
The celebration that takes place on Mack's last night at the shack is perhaps the most vivid and imagery-laden scene in The Shack. Young intensifies this experience for Mack and the reader by having Sarayu "heal" (209) Mack's eyes to allow him to see as God does. When Mack opens his eyes, he is on a hill in a meadow, and he witnesses animals and people enter the meadow, all illuminated by colorful light that emanates from them and follows them as they move. He learns that these colors represent each being's unique personality and relationships, and the colorful light can become wider and brighter along with one's emotions. An example of the detailed visual imagery the author uses to set the scene comes when Mack scans the meadow and takes in the sight of animals interacting as he has never seen before: "In a rush of peach and plum and currant flames, an osprey dove toward the surface of the lake but pulled up at the last instant to skim across its surface, sparks from its wings falling like snow into the waters as it passed. Behind it, a large rainbow-clothed lake trout burst through the surface as if to taunt a passing hunter and then dropped back in the midst of a splash of colors" (212). Beginning with Mack experiencing animals sheathed in colors allows the reader to get used to the intensity of this section of the text, and reveals the important place that animals have as God's creations with feelings and personalities of their own.
Mack's Dream
Dreams in literature are often full of strong imagery and symbolism that reveal a character's mental state and specific preoccupations. The dream Mack has at the shack demonstrates Mack's continued guilt and despair regarding Missy's disappearance. Young writes that Mack starts to fly of his own volition, but is suddenly torn out of the sky by something grabbing his leg. Then, "In a matter of seconds he was dragged from the heights and violently thrown face-first onto a muddy and deeply rutted road. Thunder shook the ground and rain instantly drenched him to the bone. And there it came again, lightning illuminating the face of his daughter as she soundlessly screamed 'Daddy' and then turned and ran into the darkness, her red dress visible only for a few brief flashes and then gone" (118). This dream immerses the reader by appealing to multiple senses, just as a dream completely immerses a dreamer. The thunder, rain, and mud create a violent and eerie setting, and the strong, flashing images of a soundless scream and Missy's red dress recall how Mack couldn't find or help his daughter on the day of her abduction.
Nature
Young uses the wonder of nature to indicate the grandeur of God's creation. This starts from the first scene of the book, before Mack has come to fully love and trust God, when Mack ponders the beauty and simplicity of a snowstorm. When Mack enters the realm of reality where God inhabits the shack, the first thing that he notices is a change in nature; where the forest was snowy and bleak before, it is suddenly full of vivid and verdant growth. Throughout the weekend Mack is at the shack, there are many points where even God acknowledges the beauty of nature; for example, Mack and Jesus lie on the dock and look together at the stars, both commenting on how amazing the cosmos is. The detail with which Young describes the beauty of nature reinforces traditional Christian ideas about the existence of God being proven in nature's complexity.
The Great Sadness
Mack uses The Great Sadness as a euphemism for depression throughout the book. The author uses his own experience with depression to write vivid metaphors and imagery around grief, showing how people can be overwhelmed by feelings. For example, in the chapter The Gathering Dark, Young writes, "Shortly after the summer that Missy vanished, The Great Sadness had draped itself around Mack's shoulders like some invisible but almost tangibly heavy quilt. The weight of its presence dulled his eyes and stooped his shoulders. Even his efforts to shake it off were exhausting, as if his arms were sewn into its bleak folds of despair and he somehow became part of it...[he] trudg[ed] daily through the murky despondency that sucked the color out of everything" (27). Young focuses on detailing the physical symptoms of Mack's depression, especially his mental and physical exhaustion, and the detailed images are intended to resonate with others who have experienced grief or depression in their lives.
