Bread

Bread is symbolic of earthly concerns and physical needs. In Novilla, most people subsist on a very simple diet consisting mostly of bread. At the start of the novel, Simon finds the lack of variety in the city’s diet stifling and believes that it is not sufficiently nourishing for himself or for David. However this, in turn, symbolizes Simon’s lack of philosophical understanding. Simon’s focus on the worldly concern of bread and his belief that a more varied diet would bring some much needed excitement into his existence belies the fact that the search for meaning in life must be undertaken on a spiritual level, not on the earthly level symbolized by bread.

Glass Eye

Senor Leon’s glass eye is symbolic of the novel’s theme of perception and reality. All of the characters see the world in a slightly different way...