Butterflies

Throughout the novel, butterflies symbolize transformation, beauty, and nature, and thus represent an escape from the programming and violence that surrounds the characters. The first butterfly appears in the novel when Hap stops Rambo from rolling over a butterfly, who then “ignore[s] the large machine towering over it” (129). Images of butterflies also appear in Heaven, symbolizing the partial escape offered by Heaven and the Blue Fairy. The reminder of butterflies’ beauty breaks Hap out of his programming. The novel ends with Hap and Vic watching a swarm of butterflies in the forest. Butterflies represent the hope of change and revolutionary transformation, as they appear as a sign of hope and escape. As the novel advances through the contradiction between machine and human life, animals, exemplified by butterflies, continue living independent of this conflict.

The Terrible Dogfish

The Terrible Dogfish represents the power and scale of...