FantasticLand

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of graphic violence and death.

The Exclamation Point, the tallest feature of the park, located directly in the center, serves as a powerful symbol of both hope and destruction. Before the hurricane, the Exclamation Point embodied the theme park’s intended purpose as a place of joy, spectacle, and escapism. However, as the park descended into lawlessness following Hurricane Sadie, its meaning shifted drastically; it came to represent not fun but survival, fear, and, ultimately, desperation.

For many of the trapped employees, the Exclamation Point functioned as a psychological anchor and a connection to the world outside the park. It was so large that satellites could see it, and its visibility served as a reminder of the outside world. While the Exclamation Point stood, it suggested that the park was okay. Many of the employees recognized its importance, and Sam Garliek chose to have his meeting of peace beneath the Exclamation Point. Louise Muskgrove explains, “I figured it was kind of, I don’t know, symbolic maybe. I would be taking the history of the park from the symbol of the park” (163). However, the meaning of the site shifted when Brock turned the Exclamation Point into a weapon—when his cannonball hit it, shrapnel exploded out and injured people.