58 pages • 1-hour read
Silver Elite
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Symbols & Motifs
Codenames Daisy and Wolf
The codenames “Daisy” and “Wolf,” chosen by Wren and Cross respectively during their childhood telepathic link, serve not only as pseudonyms but as symbols of their innermost selves. As explained by Wren: “I chose Daisy because it was my favorite flower. He chose Wolf because he liked wolves” (21). At first glance, these names might appear arbitrary or childishly sentimental, but Francis imbues them with resonance that reflects the characters’ psychological cores.
A daisy may seem delicate, yet it endures—blooming even in harsh conditions. This mirrors Wren’s character, especially in the early parts of the novel where she survives the barren terrain of the Blacklands, “Just Jim and me, living in a place with only five hours of sunshine and a lot of scary shit trying to kill us” (21). It continues to define her character as she braves new obstacles and perseveres throughout the novel.
Cross’s choice of “Wolf” is equally telling. Wolves are known for both loyalty and ferocity. The name hints at his protective instincts and underlying wildness. Roe points out this penchant for wildness when Cross spars with Xavier in the pit, telling Wren, to “watch how little [that friendship] means to him” (200). Wolves are social animals whose survival typically depends on belonging to a pack, but the archetype of the lone wolf suggests an underlying duality in Cross’s character, as he is constantly caught between belonging to the “pack” of the Silver Elite and walking alone as a covert Mod.
When their real-world identities are finally unveiled, the continued use of their codenames in intimate situations highlights their vulnerability with and trust in each other. The codenames are an acknowledgment of the deepest, most secret parts of themselves that no one else is allowed to see.
Trapped Animals
Discussions of how various types of trapped animals escape their cages form a recurring motif throughout Silver Elite. Trapped animals become a metaphor for the emotional, psychological, and physical constraints faced by characters in Wren’s society. The motif first surfaces in a conversation with Wolf, when Wren confesses, “I’m not where I’m supposed to be, and it’s suffocating. I hate feeling trapped,” to which Cross replies, “Then escape the trap […] Every trap can be escaped. It’s just a matter of what lengths you’re willing to go to” (160). The question, posed repeatedly through this motif, is not whether Wren is trapped, but what Wren is willing to do to escape her circumstances.
White coyotes come up as an example in such conversations, as they are “known to chew off a limb to escape” (161). Coyotes don’t hesitate to do what it takes to survive, but Wren hasn’t become that desperate just yet. When she is trapped in the Program, she explores every avenue of escape without irreversible sacrifice. But as the story progresses, she is forced to ask what parts of herself—her morality, her identity, her relationships—she is willing to mutilate to survive.
The horned bear offers another solution. Where the coyote represents sacrifice for freedom, the bear represents martyrdom for vengeance:
[The horned bear] stays alive for as long as he can, even if he’s weak, even if he’s on the brink of death. He hangs on, and then, when his captor comes for his body, he slices their throat with his horns. The white coyote escapes, but the bear stays just to kill the person who trapped him. He’s taking his enemy with him (161).
However, as with the coyote, Wren’s initial reaction is to reject this option in favor of finding another way. As she tells Wolf at the end of their conversation, “I think I’d rather live than die for revenge” (161).
Cross’s Tattoos
Cross’s tattoos symbolize his views about the world. When Wren first spots them, she describes them as “wings and fire” with “mystifying lines of script” that reads “Memories of eternal snow. When the wind turns against you. A single second” (401).
Wings, traditionally symbols of transcendence and liberty, are explicitly associated with freedom in Cross’s own words. When Wren asks, “Why wings?” he replies, “I don’t know. I guess they remind me of freedom” (48, 449). This admission is ironic, given Cross’s position as a captain in the Command’s Silver Elite. It suggests that despite Cross’s position of power and respect in his society, he is also trapped by the confines of family legacy, political expectation, and the stigma of his hidden identity as a Mod. The wings, therefore, suggest an unreachable aspiration—a desire to escape his current circumstances.
The flames, conversely, represent the antithesis of freedom: destruction. “And the fire?” Wren asks, to which Cross answers, “Destruction. A reminder that this whole world is always on the verge of total destruction” (449). Fire is uncontrollable and purifying yet annihilating. For Cross, whose dual loyalties threaten to consume him, fire encapsulates the instability of the world he straddles. That he pairs these two symbols together suggests his recognition that freedom might not be achieved without destruction first.
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