60 pages • 2 hours read
Corrupt
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Symbols & Motifs
Rika’s Dagger
Content Warning: This section contains references to attempted sexual assault.
Rika’s dagger is a recurring motif that represents the theme of Overcoming Fear and Victimhood to Find Empowerment. The guys gift Rika the dagger in an attempt to intimidate her:
The dagger had a black grip with a bronze cross guard, and I tightened my hand around it, holding up the blade and looking at the lines and carvings…Peering back into the box, I pulled out a small piece of paper with black writing. Licking my lips, I read the words silently. Beware the fury of a patient man (13-14).
Initially, Rika is entranced with the dagger because she loves to fence, and the sport—and its equipment—makes her feel close to her late father, who died in a car accident when she was 13. However, the note that accompanies the dagger emphasizes that someone views her as prey and intends to victimize her. Interestingly, the note describes the fury of a single man, not men. This implies that the patient man is not the group of guys, but instead Michael. Michael’s fury is more toward the people who victimize Rika than Rika herself, which allows her to eventually find empowerment while in a relationship with him.
Rika’s use of the dagger also clears her name with the guys. It is only after she stabs Damon with the dagger, showing that she is as capable of physical violence as they are, that the guys admit to her why they are seeking revenge against her. Additionally, Rika’s stabbing of Damon reveals his true colors and his involvement in Rika’s kidnapping and attempted sexual assault on Devil’s Night. After she stabs Damon, Rika becomes a much stronger person, eager to fight back and overcome her fear.
Rika’s Scar
Rika’s scar is a recurring motif that highlights the theme of Overcoming Fear and Victimhood to Find Empowerment. Rika’s scar stands in stark contrast to her stereotypical beauty: “The scar ran diagonally, about two inches long, on the left side of my neck, and although it had faded with time, I still felt like it was the first thing people noticed about me” (17-18). Whenever Trevor sees her scar, he makes sure to move her hair to cover it because he finds it unattractive. Rika sustained her scar in a car accident that killed her father, so the scar quite literally symbolizes to the world that she has been the victim of a violent accident. The scar is seen as a blemish on Rika’s otherwise perfect beauty, meaning that she is frequently encouraged to hide the scar to make herself more beautiful. However, hiding the scar—bending to the requests of men—makes her more pliant to them, which is something that Mr. Crist and Trevor desire. When Rika begins dating Michael, she becomes much more comfortable under his gaze and no longer feels like she has to hide her scar. Simultaneously, she begins to become stronger and independent, meaning that Mr. Crist and Trevor can no longer control her when Michael’s love empowers her.
The Box of Matches
Despite Rika’s great wealth, one of her most prized possessions is an item with no monetary value at all: the container of matches her father gave her before he died. This box of matches symbolizes Rika’s father’s unconditional love for her, something she doesn’t receive again until she reconnects with Michael. On the surface, the box of matches is unremarkable: “Most of the matchbooks and little boxes were made of paper, and even if the matches dried out, the containers were split, torn, and shriveled. The damp cardboard dripped with water, discolored and broken” (223). These waterlogged matches are no longer useful. From a practical standpoint, they are trash. The destroyed matches symbolize the fact that Rika’s old life—the one in which she was a victim and bowed to the needs of Mr. Crist and Trevor—is also destroyed and eliminated through Michael’s love.
The matches also emphasize that, while Rika appreciates her fortune, it is not the most important thing to her in life: “Yeah, they were just matches, but they were also irreplaceable. And the things that were irreplaceable in life were the only things of value” (224). Following Rika’s loss of the matches, she quickly begins a relationship with Michael. This relationship is one she longed for and tried to replace with a relationship with Trevor. Her relationship with Trevor failed, but her new relationship with Michael mirrors her relationship with the matches (and her father’s love). Michael has fond memories of Rika’s father, making this mirroring even more apparent.
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