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Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.

Files

Richard Thinbill repeatedly mentions the flies in Vietnam, and on a most basic level, the flies, which flock to decomposing bodies to lay their eggs, represent death. The flies are drawn to the dead bodies of the civilians killed by Charlie Company, and they are everywhere. As Thinbill says, they were “breathing flies when it was over. They crawled up into our noses.” The men at Thuan Yen are immersed in the carnage they have caused. Calley, the only member of the company who appears to feel no remorse, points out that the flies have the potential to bear witness to what happened here.

The flies also represent the haunting of the soldiers. By creating a buzzing sound that everyone can hear, they provide an auditory reminder of the day. Men like Sorcerer and Thinbill internalize this noise, hearing it long after the day is over. In his evidence, Thinbill shares his belief Sorcerer is still out there “swatting flies.” Thinbill knows that all of the men in Charlie Company are haunted by their actions on that day, that a person couldn’t be present without being haunted.

Finally, the flies represent what Thinbill refers to as “the spirit world,” which is the superstitious, little-understood world of Vietnam, populated by mysterious elements like ghosts, murderous sunlight, and murdered civilians who refuse to die. The flies that cover the bodies at Thuan Yen practically have the power to bring them back to life, for the bodies appear to be wiggling with the movement of the flies.

The Snakes / “One Plus One Equals Zero”

In Vietnam, John sees a pair of snakes eating one another’s tails, forming a shape like a zero, and he writes to Kathy describing them as “one plus one equals zero.” These words and this image symbolize the all-consuming nature of the love John feels for Kathy. He believes that the ideal relationship for them would exist if he and Kathy could just function as a single entity. In John’s mind, this figurative consumption of one another merges them into one better creature. However, the snakes’ act of eating one another, if not stopped, will eventually lead to their mutual destruction. In this way, they symbolize how John dominates their relationship and doesn’t allow Kathy to develop into a fully realized and equal partner.

Throughout their marriage, John has forced Kathy to adapt to his dreams and the needs of his profession. She becomes a politician’s wife although she hates it. Kathy sacrifices money that could be used to buy a home to finance his campaigns. She even has an abortion upon John’s insistence, even though she claims that a baby is all she ever asked for. By figuratively consuming Kathy, John destroys their love.

However, the snakes and “one plus one equals zero” can also be interpreted more positively. They represent the overarching situation of Kathy, and then John, vanishing without a trace. As the hypothesis toward the end of the book suggests, John could have met up with Kathy on some distant island with the two leaving the country together. In this theory, Kathy and John, one person and one person, actually do equal zero in their disappearance.

Mirrors

Mirrors appear frequently in the book, and they symbolize John’s dreamworld, the place “where miracles happened.” For much of his childhood, mirrors are everything to John. In the stand-up mirror where John practices his magic, he is quick, graceful, and loved. Mirrors provide a way for John to bring his father back to life and into John’s world. John imagines that he carries his magic mirror in his head, and it allows him to escape what’s happening in the real world around him whenever he chooses. Using this mirror, John can transform a lonely boy into a happy, loved boy. John utilizes the mirrors in his head throughout his life whenever he can’t handle reality. He hides behind the mirrors to escape the horror of Thuan Yen or his responsibility for causing Kathy pain with the abortion. But mirrors also represent John’s inability to recognize or function in reality anymore. When John tries to piece together his memories of the night before Kathy disappeared, he can’t see what happened because the mirrors in his head are warping his vision. Once John’s long-guarded secret is outed, he no longer can manage his own life because it was always Sorcerer, inside the mirrors, who performed the hardest trick of all: coping with the horror of his father’s suicide and his murderous presence at Thuan Yen.

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