62 pages • 2-hour read
The President is Missing
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Symbols & Motifs
Light and Darkness
The motif of light and darkness is traditionally associated with a divide between good and evil or between ignorance and knowledge. The presence of this motif evokes similar contrasts in the novel: The virus is given the code name “Dark Ages” since it has the potential to eliminate the sophisticated digital infrastructure on which American society relies. Without this infrastructure, the loss of knowledge and the consequent social chaos would result in the US reverting to an earlier and much less advanced period of history. Society would be literally (due to the collapse of the power grid) and metaphorically (due to loss of technology) plunged into darkness.
Other plot events further develop this motif: Before meeting with Augie, President Duncan notices flickering lights at the White House, and a massive power outage shrouds the city in darkness as he exits the baseball stadium. The loss of light at crucial moments evokes a sense of threat since darkness can make it easier for violent events to occur. The motif of light and darkness also extends to the lack of knowledge that constrains Duncan for most of the plot. He is perpetually “in the dark” as to who is betraying him from within the White House, whether or not he should trust Augie or the Russians, and many other details, tying this motif to the theme of Misunderstandings and False Accusations Due to Limited Information.
Classical Music
The assassin Bach is perpetually listening to classical music through her headphones while she carries out tasks related to her mission, developing this motif throughout the novel; her code name is also an allusion to the 18th-century German composer Johann Sebastian Bach. The classical music symbolizes how, despite her violent actions, Bach craves a calm and peaceful life for herself and her child. She uses music to ground herself and retain a connection to her humanity even as she works as a hired killer. Bach lost her family and witnessed violent and inhumane actions while growing up during the Bosnian War. Violence gave her a way to survive, protect herself, and eventually earn enough money to build a future, but she never abandoned the sensitive and artistic side of herself. The music also symbolizes Bach’s protective maternal instincts. When she believes that she is going to be killed by American Secret Service agents (which will also result in the death of her unborn child), Bach presses her headphones against her stomach and whispers, “[L]isten to this, my beautiful angel” (434).
When Bach was a young child, her mother (after whom Bach plans to name her daughter) engaged in sex with soldiers in exchange for protection. Her mother would give her children music to block out the sound of what was occurring. Bach thus associates classical music with the choice to cling to humanity under impossible circumstances. She chooses to listen to music because she sees her work as an assassin as akin to her mother having sex with soldiers: It is a decision to keep herself and her family safe by whatever means necessary, even if it appears to rob her of her humanity.
Baseball Game
Duncan meets with Augie at a baseball game in a large stadium; Nina leaves a ticket for him after their initial meeting. The baseball game is the epitome of traditional American culture and values; the modern form of baseball was developed in North America, and the game is sometimes colloquially known as “America’s pastime.” Meeting at the stadium is innocuous and a good place for Duncan to blend into the crowd, but it also symbolizes the American lifestyle that is being imperiled by the threat of the cyberattack.
The baseball game is also the birthplace of a partnership between Duncan and Augie that ends up safeguarding the country’s future. The setting reveals the start of a mentorship and even a paternal relationship between the two men, although they are not initially sure if they can trust one another. Augie has never been to a baseball game before, a common father-son activity. The setting of their meeting sets the stage for how Augie will gradually come to value American lifestyles and feel regret about his role in developing the virus.
This symbolism is reinforced at the novel’s conclusion when Duncan suggests that Augie would be welcome to stay in the US and build a life there. As Augie considers this possibility, he muses, “I did rather enjoy the baseball contest” (486). The connection between baseball and Augie’s decision about whether to stay in the US and assimilate the country’s values reflects how a sport symbolizes American ideals.
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