The Sympathizer's Ghosts

The Sympathizer is prone to frequent hallucinations of figures from his past whose deaths he feels responsible for, including Beatles, Sonny, Ugly, Uglier, and the crapulent major. Though some of these spirits are living characters in the novel, as a collective they function as a symbol of trauma and grief. The Sympathizer’s inability to forgive himself manifests in the apparition of these figures from his past, who quite literally haunt him. The Sympathizer’s inability to expel them through apology or distraction reveals the haunting quality of guilt.

The Eiffel Tower

As the Boss eloquently points out, the Eiffel Tower serves an important role in the novel as a result of its phallic imagery. In a sense, the Eiffel Tower, and monuments like it, are representative of the masculine nature of violence. There is a suggestion that monuments, in both form and inspiration...