Never Never

While reading Charlie’s journal entries, Silas finds an account of one of their past dates. They went to Bourbon Street and met a man painted silver, who answered questions for quarters. Silas asked for the meaning of life, and the street performer answered with “All there is left to do now is dance” (324). Caught up in the moment, the couple proceeded to do just that. This is the moment in which Charlie fell in love. Later, in the present, the couple play “Silas Says,” and Silas commands Charlie to dance with him: “We sway softly back and forth, and dance to non-existent music right down the middle of Bourbon Street” (336).

Dancing thus emerges as a symbol of Charlie and Silas’s love, reckless and spontaneous, public yet intensely private. As they whirl around shocked and stunned faces, they treasure their world apart. So caught up in their love, they do not need music, instead moving to the subtle rhythm of each other’s bodies. In a way, this dance proves more intimate than Charlie and Silas’s recent kisses, and because they experience pain the most when they do not listen to their hearts, dancing symbolizes the joy of being true to oneself and one’s love.