Legalism
Legalism is strict, excessive adherence to rules or religious codes regardless of personal conviction or extenuating circumstances. The characters in "Wool" perpetuate and are victimized by legalism, which creates a dangerous status quo inside the silo and discourages critical thinking or individualism. For example, Mayor Jahns insists on sending an unprecedented number of people to "cleaning" simply because "the rules are the rules" and they cannot be broken; Jahns does not question the validity or benefit of the rules she enforces, and the strain of ending human lives damages her physical and mental health. Nelson, a technician, teaches Holston the "cleaning" procedure with "cult-like intensity" though Holston has witnessed countless "cleanings." The silo's legalistic and secretive culture leads curious people like Allison to make the rash decision to uncover the truth by undertaking "the cleaning."
Distorted Reality
In an interview, author Hugh Howey explained he was inspired to write "Wool" after ceasing travel and receiving news only through the filtered lens of news reporting. Similarly, the characters in "Wool" live with a distorted, limited worldview. The silo, an underground bunker, has a single view of the outside world projected on a massive, blurred screen, which informs the silo's entire understanding of the outside world for generations, as citizens believe the earth's surface is inhospitable.
The silo also distorts reality by limiting access to information. Books are scarce in the silo, and residents are discouraged from asking questions, as expressing a desire to go outside is punishable by death. Allison discovers that information about historic uprisings has been overwritten and finds computer programs that manipulate the images of the outside world. Thus, limited information and manipulated images distort the silo residents' sense of reality and breed mistrust.
Allison and Holston believe the only way to uncover the truth is to go outside. However, the protective helmets they wear project yet another illusion, convincing the cleaners that the outside world is survivable, encouraging them to complete the cleaning before suffering a horrible death.
Control
In addition to manipulating information and controlling historical narratives, the silo's governing body controls every aspect of the residents' personal lives, creating discontent and disillusionment. For example, couples can only create families if they win a "lottery" and conceive a child within a year. Food and all supplies are rationed, and conversations are strictly monitored. Holston and Allison fear their "traitorous" talk about Allison's discoveries will lead to a death sentence. Control is essential to the silo's survival, as uprisings occur approximately every decade.
The Lure of the Beyond
Throughout "Wool," characters both fear and are drawn to the unknown world outside the silo. Though they can survive underground with all their physical needs met, the silo's residents cannot resist thinking about the "beyond." For example, the massive screen in the cafeteria depicts a grim, post-apocalyptic image that is objectively unpleasant to look at. Yet, the screen draws the residents' attention like a picturesque view. In fact, this view is so essential to the residents' happiness that the silo routinely sacrifices human lives to keep the image clear.
In another example of this theme, adults and children pore over picture books of fantastical creatures; the whimsical illustrations feel more "true" than the carefully constructed historical narrative taught in the silo. Though meant for children, these picture books help adults imagine the world before the apocalypse. As Allison concludes, this innate curiosity about the world beyond the silo led to centuries of uprisings, as citizens demanded to see the truth about what lies on the earth's surface. Allison and Holston, both tortured by the knowledge that the silo government destroyed sensitive documents, ultimately risk their lives simply to see what exists beyond the silo for themselves.
Technology and Nature
Though visually rundown, the silo is an underground bunker so technologically advanced that it can support human life for centuries. Using sophisticated waste recycling, hydroponic farming, and atmospheric control systems, the silo's residents can live somewhat comfortably. Despite this advanced technology, they still long to experience nature, poring over colorful illustrations in children's books and finding ways to convince themselves that the earth's surface is habitable.
Though the cause of the apocalypse isn't explicitly stated in the text, the image on the silo's screen shows a barren wasteland, destroyed buildings, and "black clouds overhead, roaming like beasts." This destroyed environment suggests that human technology, likely nuclear weapons, permanently destroyed the environment.
The clearest and most poignant example of the relationship between nature and technology is Holston's cleaning. To convince criminals like Holston to perform the cleaning, the silo's technical teams use advanced virtual reality to make the outside world appear "green" and "untainted." Fooled by these images, Holston experiences the most profound joy of his life and completes the cleaning. This example demonstrates both the innately human desire to experience nature and the power of technology to fool and control people.
