Wrecker
55 pages • 1-hour read
Carl HiaasenWrecker
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Symbols & Motifs
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death.
Forged Vaccination Records
The forged vaccination cards that Quantraine and his gang smuggle into Key West are a symbol of prioritizing personal gain over social responsibility. During the COVID pandemic, people who had legitimate vaccination cards could prove they had been immunized and were at much lower risk of catching and transmitting the COVID virus. These cards were needed to work and travel in some places. People who used forged cards placed both themselves and others at risk by pretending to be vaccinated when they were not.
Wrecker first encounters the cards when he dives down to the wreck of the purple go-fast and brings the wrapped pizza boxes full of forged cards back up with him. Both literally and figuratively, he is surfacing what the gang is up to, bringing their malfeasance into the light where something can be done about it. This does not happen immediately, however. At first, Wrecker holds onto the cards while he decides how to leverage them. This enmeshes him further with Quantraine and his men.
While Wrecker holds onto the cards, he is part of the gang, whether he wants to be or not. He initially keeps the cards for personal gain—because he wants to use them to free himself from Quantraine. When he eventually does the right thing and turns them into the police, he shows that social responsibility is a higher value for him—and finally succeeds in disentangling himself from the smugglers.
Grave Tending
Both Wrecker and Willi sneak into the Key West cemetery at night to take care of the graves there. Wrecker scrubs Sarah Chillingwood’s grave clean every night—and for a while, is tasked with keeping an eye on the alleged crypt of Bendito Vachs, as well. Willi brings candles and flowers to Manuel Cabeza’s grave and sings a sad song she has composed in Spanish—a language that she chooses out of respect for Cabeza’s ancestry.
In a literal sense, both teenagers are using their time—and risking arrest—to show respect to the dead of their community. Both Willi and Wrecker are completely comfortable in the graveyard, which they see as an interesting and peaceful place. They are curious about the people buried in the graveyard; the novel includes several historical anecdotes that explore the pasts of specific people buried there. For Wrecker and Willi, the graveyard is not a scary place: They see the dead as the historic community of Key West, as much a part of the town as its living residents. Willi’s and Wrecker’s grave tending thus symbolically supports the novel’s themes of What It Means to Belong to a Place and The Importance of Caring for Others.
Wrecker’s Boat
Wrecker’s boat symbolizes his adolescence and the independence he gains by taking responsibility for himself. Wrecker is only 15 years old, but he owns his own skiff. He takes responsibility for fueling it and keeping its mechanics running himself. Since Wrecker’s father and mother have no interest in boats, he has had to figure out how to obtain a boat, maintain it, and pilot it without their assistance. Now, he takes it out on the ocean nearly every day and is an expert navigator and pilot.
Having his own boat is rewarding. Wrecker uses it to fish for himself and his family—a way to provide for people who have historically provided for him. It also allows him to indulge in immersing himself in solitude in nature, which is where he feels most comfortable. His parents and stepfather do not understand or share this interest, and often try to divert him into other activities. In this way, Wrecker’s boat helps to support the text’s theme of Establishing Independence from Problematic Parents.
Wrecker’s skiff is the appropriate size and power for someone in his stage of life. It is not like the large green go-fast that Quantraine bullies him into driving. The go-fast’s size and speed both thrill and terrify Wrecker. Driving a speedboat is a responsibility he is not quite ready for, and he is greatly relieved when he has finished his last run on the go-fast and can return to his own boat. Significantly, it is Wrecker’s own skiff that finally bears him away from the go-fast after he deliberately beaches the speedboat. At this moment, Wrecker is back where he belongs and on course again toward gradually assuming adult responsibilities.
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