Books

• Larry Ott is portrayed is described as a hungry, even voracious reader, particularly of books by best-selling horror writer Stephen King
• both an escape from a horrible childhood and an equally horrible adulthood and his only friend
• seem to be some kind of social contact to the outer world since he is member of several book clubs suggests that he feels a certain feeling of belonging when he reads the same books as others

Guns

• guns represent the attitudes of the different characters towards violence
• pointed comment about how Silas never uses a gun
• Larry‘s father lets him use one of his rifles

Carl‘s Rifle

• most significant gun/rifle in the novel
• when Carl gives Larry permission to borrow it, it represents a glimpse of affection and respect from his dad
• his dad‘s violent reaction when he learns that Larry had loaned it out represents a betrayal / ending of even that glimpse
• For Silas it represents friendship when he borrows it initially and later cleans it in time for Larry‘s return home

The Zombie Mask

• throughout the novel, references to that horrific yet realistic full-head mask of a zombie
• mask is a literal representation of identity being concealed
• when the identity of the person who wore it during the attack on Larry in Chapter 1 is revealed, it becomes a catalyst for the revelation of truth

Snakes

• Snakes of various types and in various circumstances make up and define the most consistent and most vividly deployed symbol or motif
• tend to evoke death or deception of some kind or another

The Photograph of Alice and Larry

• reveals a secret to Silas about his family (identity of his father)
• one of several objects that give the book‘s thematic interest in the relationship between past and present an actual physical presence in the characters‘ lives

Larry‘s Mailbox

• mailbox stationed on Larry‘s driveway can be seen as symbolizing Larry himself
• constantly destroyed by random people
• way the mailbox is abused / beaten up under various circumstances represents how Larry himself is / has been beaten up
• his intention to strengthen and take care of that mailbox represents ways in which he is himself stronger and better taken care of

Alzheimer‘s Disease

• disease of the memory: it eats away at a person‘s recollections, leaving him / her with no memory of themselves or of the people around them
• existence of that disease in the novel can be seen as thematic interest in the relationship between past and present
• the forgetting of the past can lead to either unhappiness and suffering (in Ina‘s case) or healing (in the case of Silas and Larry)