The Bison

The bison is a symbol that Austin uses throughout the novel to refer to cavemen and their habit of drawing bison on the walls of their caves to record history. To Austin, the bison was a symbol of the earliest recorded history. At the end of the novel, however, the bison reappear, a sign that history is repeating itself.

Black Thing in a Globe

The black writhing thing that Austin and Robby first saw in a sealed globe in Johnny’s office was called the Contained MI Plague Strain 412E. This plague was unleashed on the town of Ealing, Iowa when Tyler Jacobson dropped the sealed sample onto the part of the pavement in Grasshopper Jungle where Robby had bled on the pavement earlier that day. The black thing symbolized the beginning of the end of the world.

Pink Plastic Flamingo

At first, Austin and...