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Symbols & Motifs
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of child sexual abuse, mental illness, graphic violence, physical abuse, and sexual content.
Mango Candy
The recurring gift of mango candy is a motif that traces the changing nature of Marcus and Preston’s bond across the novel. Originating in their first childhood meeting, the candy initially represents uncomplicated kindness and the connection they form before rivalry, violence, and trauma shape their adult lives. When they first meet as seven-year-olds, Preston gives Marcus his favorite candy, promising, “If you continue to be my friend, I’ll give you more. I promise” (14). Although Marcus remembers this encounter while Preston initially does not, he later recreates the childhood gesture by repeatedly giving Preston mango candies. The exchange therefore becomes a private link between their childhood connection and their developing adult bond. As Preston grows closer to Marcus, the candies also become associated with comfort and belonging; Preston admits that receiving them makes him feel “as if I’m back to being a kid again” (442).
As their bond develops, the candy takes on associations beyond its childhood origins. Marcus incorporates it into their sexual intimacy, and after Preston leaves, he scatters mango candies over the body of a man he kills while seeking revenge. These later uses complicate its association with affection by connecting Marcus’s devotion to the violence that also characterizes his behavior. Ultimately, the mango candy motif carries the memory of Marcus and Preston’s first connection through later stages of their bond, accumulating new meanings as their attachment develops. Its emotional value also provides a small counterpoint to the emphasis on money and status explored in the theme of Class Disparities and the Power of Wealth. Although the candy has little monetary value, its repeated exchange gives it personal significance within a novel where wealth and possessions frequently function as sources of status and power. For Marcus and Preston, the candy derives its value from the shared history it recalls.
The Fairy Prince
“Fairy prince” is a recurring motif that reflects Marcus’s enduring perception of Preston, particularly his otherworldly beauty and the sense of fascination Marcus associates with him. The name originates in the prologue, when a seven-year-old Marcus first sees Preston in a tree and mistakes him for a fairy. This initial perception of Preston as something otherworldly and beautiful persists as their relationship changes. When they encounter each other again through high-school hockey, Marcus revives the childhood name, although Preston does not yet remember their first meeting. Marcus continues using it during their later rivalry, calling out, “Hi, fairy prince” (25) during a college hockey game to get under Preston’s skin. As their relationship develops, however, the nickname shifts from provocation to intimacy and becomes tied to Marcus’s continued attachment to the boy he remembers meeting in the garden. As Marcus learns more about Preston’s aggression, violence, trauma, and vulnerability, the nickname comes to encompass aspects of Preston that were absent from his childhood impression.
The possessiveness associated with the nickname also develops alongside their relationship. Marcus refers to Preston as “my fairy prince,” connecting affection with his desire to claim and keep Preston. By the end of the novel, this language becomes reciprocal: Marcus recalls that he once “saw a fairy prince and wanted to make him mine,” before acknowledging that Preston has “claim[ed]” him just as completely. This motif also supports the theme of Sports as a Performance of Masculinity through the relationship between Preston’s public hockey persona and Marcus’s personal perception of him. On the ice, Preston cultivates the confident persona of the “league’s prince,” using provocation, competitiveness, and displays of heterosexual desirability to maintain control. Marcus’s “fairy prince” nickname follows Preston through this same competitive setting while expressing an attraction that their rivalry initially conceals. Marcus continues to associate Preston with the fairy-prince image as he comes to know aspects of him that were absent from his childhood impression, including his aggression and capacity for violence. As “fairy prince” moves from an on-ice provocation to an intimate term, the motif traces how the attraction initially expressed through hockey rivalry develops into more direct expressions of attachment.
The Stars on the Ceiling
The glow-in-the-dark stars on Preston’s childhood bedroom ceiling are a symbol associated with his dissociation during his prolonged abuse. As a child, Preston focuses on the stars as he mentally distances himself from what is happening to him. He describes this experience in his confessional letter to Marcus: “I floated to the stars on the ceiling of my room and stayed there watching the broken version of me being molested and unable to breathe” (489). Later in the letter, he recalls that the stars were his “only friends” while Claude abused him, connecting them with the isolation in which he endured these experiences. The image of Preston “floating” above himself also reflects the separation between his awareness and his body that characterizes these episodes.
The significance of the stars continues through their connection to Preston’s adult experiences of dissociation. His descriptions of “static,” distorted surroundings, difficulty breathing, and feeling disconnected from his own body echo the mental distance described in his childhood memories. Intense physical sensations can interrupt these experiences; Preston describes the impacts of hockey as temporarily putting him “back together,” and pain during his encounters with Marcus can similarly interrupt the static. This symbol therefore supports the theme of Intimacy and Sex as a Space for Exploration and Healing, as Preston’s dissociation shapes his responses to touch, control, and physical sensation during intimacy. During his encounters with Marcus, Preston begins to recognize that consensual pain can affect him differently when he retains agency over what happens to his body. The stars give this development additional significance by recalling a time when Preston mentally withdrew from his body during sexual abuse; his later intimate experiences increasingly involve being physically present while retaining control over the boundaries of the encounter.
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