60 pages • 2-hour read
Caught Up
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Symbols & Motifs
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of sexual content, graphic violence, bullying, gender and/or transgender discrimination, sexual violence and/or harassment, and physical/emotional abuse.
Junior’s Wounds and Scars
Early in the novel, Junior sustains a wound to his side that periodically bleeds during intense, physical situations, including sex. He also sustains a taser wound at Lauren’s hands. She also notes that his abdomen is covered with the scars of prior encounters. These wounds collectively act as a symbol for the physical and emotional toll of his work in the mafia, implying that his psyche and soul are sustaining similarly grievous forms of damage.
As he considers his experience with the mafia, Junior notes that his father sends the brothers to do the real work rather than taking care of it himself, and as the brothers collect new injuries and scars, these wounds represent the sacrifices that they all make for the family. As Junior’s mafia membership persists, he grows angrier and more disconnected from humanity. The wounds that he hides under his clothes therefore mirror the wounds to his psyche that he must hide from the world.
Lauren’s Taser
Lauren’s taser is her weapon of choice. She uses it to threaten Alec, attack Junior, and knock Nico Sr. away from Junior during the scuffle that ensues in the novel’s climax. In each instance, Lauren faces off against a large, violent man, but the taser evens the playing field and allows her to defend herself despite her smaller size. Tasers therefore represent women’s defiance of the violence against them. Lauren uses a taser to force men away from her. When she threatens Alec with the weapon, she demands that he allow her to leave, thus putting physical distance between her and the two men she sees as threats. However, when she later uses the taser against Junior, the distance that she is trying to create is emotional, not physical. Feeling betrayed, she knows that hurting Junior’s body will cause him to pull away from her emotionally. Only at the end of the novel, when she uses the taser on Nico Sr., does she finally use her weapon to protect someone else from violence, thereby transforming the taser into an intimate representation of her dedication to Junior.
Velvet
Velvet is a play club of which Lauren is a part-owner. A play club is a business that allows members to engage in sex acts, watch sexual performances, and connect over shared sexual interests. Lauren values the club because she has always felt that in the wider world, she was discouraged from expressing her sexuality without judgment. Velvet is therefore a symbol of safety and understanding that contradicts the judgments and bullying that Lauren faced in high school. The issues that she endured thus become emblematic of the broader social crusade against sex workers and kink play. The narrative shows that Velvet is under attack by random drunk men trying to abuse women, a landlord extorting his tenants for more money, and laws that restrict the location and sales of play clubs, and these incidents show society’s resentment of this unique haven that seeks to protect its members from the outside world.
Lauren identifies Velvet as a critical element of her life, using it as a test to see if Junior can handle a relationship with her. Notably, he quickly falls in love with Velvet, seeing it positively as Lauren does. Junior has also been compelled to suppress or ignore his sexual interests, due to the oppressive patriarchal and heteronormative environment of the mafia. Together, the two flourish within Velvet, exploring each other more fully in a safe space.
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