60 pages • 2 hours read
Iron Gold
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Symbols & Motifs
Colors
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of racism.
Throughout Iron Gold, colors are a motif that plays an important role in the text, both defining societal hierarchies and highlighting their injustices. The novel takes place in a fictional universe where the Rising, the rebel movement started by Darrow of Lykos, is at war with the last remnants of the Society. The Society is a strictly hierarchical system in which humans are categorized into 14 different main Colors, some with minor subcategories. Each Color represents a social or professional class with specific, genetically engineered traits and abilities, which is why characters are often referred to by their particular Color: Golds, Silvers, Coppers, Blues, Yellows, Greens, Violets, Oranges, Grays, Browns, Obsidians, Pinks, and Reds. The Colors are a clear representation of class systems and the inherent oppression they rely on but taken to a futuristic, genetically enhanced extreme.
The Society was formerly ruled by the Golds, who are extremely tall, strong, and treated as living gods by the lower castes. They include the titular “Iron Golds,” a name reserved for their most heroic and remarkable members, and the Peerless Scarred, their most ruthless warriors. Lysander, for instance, is a Gold.
The Reds also play an important role in the novel. They are Martian miners who are generally small and robust and are at the bottom of the social hierarchy. Darrow started as a Red before being turned into a Gold, and Lyria and her family are Reds as well. Ephraim is a Gray, a mid-ranking soldier without superhuman abilities, while Obsidians are the largest, strongest, and most fearsome warriors. In addition, Pinks are bred to be sex workers, Whites are judges and notaries, and Blues are mechanics and engineers.
The Society’s strict hierarchy highlights the flaws of any caste system. The oppression and injustice faced by the characters is often a direct result of their Color, highlighting the social and political oppression of lower classes by the dominant group. While the Republic is also fallible, as illustrated by Lyria’s character arc, it originally aims to dismantle the Society’s rigid categories and allow for more freedom, equality, and self-realization.
Animal Emblems
Throughout the novel, many of the characters and factions mentioned in the narrative use animal emblems. This symbolism contributes to characterization and develops the theme of Verisimilitude Through Mythological and Historical Reference by invoking various cultural interpretations of these symbols. This adds a sense of historicism to the narrative while providing relevant information about a character or a group to the reader.
For example, the Howlers use wolves as their emblem. Wolves are a typical symbol for warriors, particularly in European and Nordic mythology. They are also characterized by their social dynamics, which revolve around pack mentality. This symbolism supports both the function and structure of the Howlers, who are depicted as a heterogeneous group of fighters loyal to their leader.
The Syndicate also uses an animal emblem: the octopus. The Duke of Hands has decorated his cane with an “onyx octopus handle” (156). Reminiscent of the symbol of the Italian mafia, the octopus represents the many arms of the criminal organization and hints at its reach and influence.
Some individual characters also use animal emblems as well. Virginia, for example, is nicknamed “the Lioness” and her personal guard is called the Lionguard, in reference to her strength, noble spirit, and leadership skills. The Telemanuses’s symbol is the fox, generally symbolizing cleverness and shrewdness.
Hyperion
Hyperion is the capital city of Luna, Earth’s moon, which is under the control of the Solar Republic. The city’s very layout symbolizes the social hierarchy between poorer and more privileged classes. It is a densely urbanized area built on several levels above the surface of the planet, and it is home to the Republic’s Senate and main institutions. Darrow, for example, mentions some of the city’s historical significance when he returns from Mercury: “It’s a sea of Colors that line the 12-kilometer Via Triumphia. Built by my people, the Red slaves of the Golds, hundreds of years ago, the Triumphia is the avenue by which the Conquerors who tamed Earth held their own processions as they claimed continent after continent” (3).
Lyria’s point of view offers insight into other areas of Hyperion when she visits it as a tourist. She points out the overwhelming crowds and sights that contrast with her upbringing in a poor, rural area. Later in the story, as she runs away from the Syndicate’s men, Lyria also describes the layout of the city in more detail. She mentions that many of the tenement houses that are directly on the surface of the planet “are stunted buildings underneath the foundation lattice that supports the highrises. Those that are connected to the highrises are fortified and secured with huge doors” (414). She then uses tramway lines and lifts to make her way to the upper levels of Hyperion “ninety levels above. As I ascend level by level to brighter, more reputable zones of the city, fliers speed through the air in the avenues. Surface cars and trams rattle on crisscrossing bridges” (416).
Although the Republic aims to dismantle the Society’s oppressive Color system, the narrative suggests that it still enforces traditional economic hierarchies, as symbolized by Hyperion’s very foundation. With poorer citizens living at the bottom while the wealthy élites live at the top, closer to public amenities, safety, and political power, Hyperion represents typical class systems that reinforce social inequity.
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