Pay It Forward

In many places, the author uses faces as metonyms for characters. In effect, faces stand in for the person as a whole, in addition to often symbolizing aspects of their personalities. The face is the first portion of a person that people look at, and faces represent first appearances, especially in the case of Reuben, who is described as “a teacher nobody knew very well, because they couldn’t get past his face. Because it was hard to look at his face. It started with a boy [Trevor] who didn’t seem all that remarkable on the outside, but who could see past his teacher’s face” (7). In Reuben’s case, his facial disfigurement prevents other characters from getting to know him. Reuben’s face, then, becomes a symbol for his inner being, as he is traumatized and does not allow people to get to know him. He uses his face as a barrier between himself and other characters, preventing himself from joining any community.

However, later in the novel, Reuben’s face becomes a reflection of Trevor’s as he gains hope and immerses himself in the community, becoming more selfless: “Trevor looked up at my face. God only knows what he saw there. I can’t even imagine…. But some of it must have been right there on my face…. It was like looking in a mirror” (265). Reuben’s face has metaphorically taken on some of Trevor’s traits; as Reuben has grown as a character, his face begins to reflect Trevor’s more and more. 

Throughout the novel, cold is associated with darkness and ugliness, especially moral ugliness. Coldness is also repeatedly associated with depression. This is perhaps most apparent within the context of Charlotte, who Jerry tries to caution away from the cold water below the Golden Gate Bridge: “‘That’s a very ugly darkness. Very cold. Unforgiving. You won’t like it one bit’” (127). Although Charlotte believes the cold to be welcoming, Jerry maintains that it is just the opposite: unforgiving and unlikeable. In this way, he tries to deter her from giving in to her depression and taking her own life.

Similarly, the author repeatedly conflates coldness of temperature with coldness of personality. Although usually possessing a bright and sunny personality, whenever Trevor is unhappy or angry, the author describes him as cold or as having a cold voice. Whenever Trevor speaks of his father, he turns cold: “He didn’t answer at first, just looked up at her with an expression that crystallized like ice around her diaphragm and made it hard for her to breathe” (78). The author implies that coldness, like hope, is easily transferable. One person’s darkness or coldness can affect the other human beings with whom they interact. The cold becomes deadly, a kind of communicable virus of unhappiness. The author suggests that these characters can die from a kind of emotional hypothermia. 

Mirrors are used to reflect aspects about the characters that they often choose not to or cannot see. When Jerry stands waiting in line following Trevor’s advertisement free money, he sees himself in the other homeless individuals: “It had been a while since he’d looked in a mirror. And then it hit him. I’m looking in a mirror right now” (35). Jerry doesn’t want to acknowledge how far he has fallen; he wants to believe that he is better than the other people in this line, that he is somehow worthier. But then he recognizes that these people are reflections of himself. This use of mirroring indicates the similarities that bring people together. In Jerry’s case, this is not necessarily a positive thing, though it does serve as a kind of wake-up call for him.

However in other instances, the use of mirrors to demonstrate the similarities between people can elicit something good about the character that they had failed to notice. Instead of blurring the picture, the character sees himself or herself more clearly. This is the case with Arlene, who has very low self-esteem, and does not think she is very smart. However, when Trevor parrots her words back to her, she is surprised at the wisdom beneath them:“He always swore he’d learned it from her and was only mirroring it back, but somehow the wisdom of her own advice surprised her as it came out of his mouth, and left her wondering if she was wise enough to heed it” (75). In cases like Arlene, who suffers from esteem issues, often these mirrored selves are truer than her own conception of her identity. The people who love her, especially Trevor, are able to see the positive aspects of her personality and reflect them back to Arlene. This increases Arlene’s self-confidence by forcing her to accept the dissonance between the way that she sees herself and the way that others perceive her. 

Ricky’s beat-up Ford truck reoccurs as a symbol that haunts Arlene throughout the novel, an eyesore that forces her to take an extra job at a bar she hates. She is stuck looking at the truck every day, and it infuriates her. The truck represents human failures, especially Ricky’s cruelness and abandonment and Arlene’s past mistakes. She can’t seem to get rid of the vehicle, even after Jerry helps her break it down and parcel it out piece by piece. As a whole, it seems too big a job for Arlene to fix by herself, but once Jerry, who knows something of failure himself, comes along and helps her, she is able to take out her frustrations on it. She eventually destroys parts of it, symbolizing her destruction of her own past and providing enough catharsis to find a way to move forward in her life.