The "Outsider"

In Six Four, the label of the “outsider” symbolizes one’s inferiority within a hierarchy. Fear of being an outsider is the primary motivation behind characters' actions in the novel. Those within hierarchies are constantly looking to get closer to the top of the pyramid where they would consider themselves the ultimate insider. There are multiple layers of inside versus outside in the novel. For example, for someone who works in the Prefectural HQ as a detective, reporters are outsiders and the police are insiders. However, as a member of the Criminal Investigations department within the HQ, police from other departments are also outsiders. What qualifies as "outside" differs based on the scale at which one's relationship to another is being analyzed.

Whiteness

At the beginning of the novel, whiteness symbolizes death, but by the end of the novel, it has been invigorated with hope...