The Tape

The Tape is the most important object in the entire book. Aside from supposedly containing information dangerous to Carmen Siracuse, Charlie comes to learn that it is a conversation between the mob boss and Attorney General Andrew Lippincott, in which Andrew asks him to kill his son. The tape represents blackmail, corruption, and hypocrisy, and in the final moments of the book, this idea is even further reinforced when it becomes known that Jake was never in possession of the tape in the first place.

Punches

A surprising amount of punches are thrown in this novel, and they begin fairly early on, when Charlie accidentally gets cornered by a street gang. Charlie's punches are not effective, and he fails to ever actually hurt anyone; but, they do represent his willingness to fight when cornered, provided the stakes are high enough.

Hammer

One of the most...