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Symbols are objects, characters, figures, and colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.
Mass Transit
The title Manhattan Transfer is a nod to an above-ground train station in Harrison, New Jersey, that was used for transfers between Newark and Manhattan. The only purpose of the station was to allow passengers to change trains, making it a stop along the way and not a destination. The only time this station is mentioned in the book is when a newly married Ellen and Jojo Oglethorpe return from their honeymoon in Atlantic City. Ellen is not happy with her decision, and the marriage ultimately ends. It is therefore just a stop along the way for Ellen. The mass transit system reflects the transience of the city and its people who are always on the go, sometimes into and out of the city. This applies to all people who live in Dos Passos’s New York City, but mainly to the characters whose scenes in the book are all stops along the way in their stories. Although the social and economic status of each character is different, mass transit is a common denominator, as many of them make use of it to get to their next destination.
Broadway and Wall Street
Although little action in the book takes place on either of these streets, Broadway and Wall Street are at the heart of everything in New York. The actors living at Sunderland’s apartments are preoccupied with their place on Broadway. Representative of the superficial aspects of New York, the characters fear aging as youth is key to staying relevant on Broadway. Tony and Jojo only show a superficial version of themselves to the Broadway world as they struggle with keeping their homosexuality under wraps. They know their Broadway careers will be derailed if word gets out. Meanwhile, Wall Street represents the consumerism and money that fuels everything in the city, and financial wealth is considered a true form of success. Ed Thatcher, one of the few honest, hard-working characters, refuses to get involved in Wall Street, claiming the businessmen involved in the stock exchange are all crooks. Characters’ economic and social status, happiness, success, and failure are all decided by what happens on these two New York streets.
The Press
For many characters, the press is a symbol of distrust. People from all walks of life have reason to question whether they can trust what they see in print. When Jojo turns up at Jimmy’s apartment looking for Ellen one night, he berates Jimmy for being a yellow journalist and a “paid prostitute” hired by the press, implying that he relies on sensationalism over facts. After the war, Jimmy, a press member, supports Jojo’s distrust when he reveals that citizens are not getting an objective view of current events. He experiences this firsthand when he cannot get articles about the war published because his opinions are counter to the mainstream. Questions are raised about how the media affects everyday citizens of New York when burglars Francie and Dutch are sentenced, and the judge has harsh words for a complicit press that he feels emboldened criminals. He calls out the press for making excuses for those susceptible to bad choices. Instead of being a bastion of truth, the press in Manhattan Transfer is unreliable and operates with dubious intent.
