The Dark Forest

The motif of eyes in The Dark Forest is the most significant symbol in the novel. It is a recurrent image evoked in the looks characters frequently exchange and also in the novel’s description of the world. Eyes are consistently used by the characters of the novel to glean information from others. They are expressive of the identities and secrets of humans, a characteristic which separates them from the Trisolarans, and which defines humanity in the novel. When Luo Ji awakens from hibernation, his immediate judgement of the people of this new time rests in his analysis of their eyes:

He was won over by their expressions, because he knew that the eyes of ordinary people were the best reflection of the level of civilization in a time and place (311).

The emotive function of these eyes informs Luo Ji that he has reached an advanced civilization. He sees love, curiosity, and wisdom in the people around him, aspects that he found lacking 200 years before.

Eyes are not just a reflection of inner characteristics in the novel, but a means of communication as well. Eyes and expressions are posited as a means of communication hidden from the Trisolaran sophons  and this means of communication plays a role at important junctions of the