Security Cameras

Security cameras in the novel symbolize surveillance, as well as the impingement that surveillance can effect on democratic freedoms. Although Philip Hadi installs cameras in and around his house for private security purposes, he also installs them on Howland's Main Street after he is elected first selectman, without notifying the public. To Howland residents, particularly to Gerry Firth, the cameras create a panoptical sense of being recorded and seem to be a symptom of authoritarian tendencies.

Caldwell House

Caldwell House, the historic mansion in Howland, symbolizes wealth inequality. Although the mansion and its grounds have long lain empty -- and, as Haley discovers in her historical research, was the home not to admirable figures but repugnant and ruthless individuals -- its space and its money remain locked up and inaccessible to the wider public, much as the concentration of wealth in a small percentage of...