The Flamethrowers

The motorcycle is an important motif in this novel because it is both a physical object that embodies multiple symbolic messages and one that mirrors the structure of the novel. The pace of the novel mimics the sensation of riding a motorcycle in that there is a sensation that the machine you’re riding on is slightly out of your control, with a twinge of danger. On a motorcycle, the rider can feel every turn they make. Similarly, Kushner structures her novel with twists that give the reader whiplash.

Motorcycles symbolize speed, freedom, ambition, masculinity, femininity, and power. With a motorcycle, the rider has the freedom to subvert orderly transportation, weaving through traffic as though they’re flying above everybody else. Valera has an existential revelation while on a motorcycle, and it changes his life. He discovers that the motorcycle is the vehicle that will allow him to break social norms and codes, flee from what he despises, and throw himself towards what he desires. Reno has a similar experience with motorcycles. She feels the freest when she is speeding along on a Moto Valera, watching the landscapes blur around her. Freedom is a very important issue throughout this novel, and the motorcycle symbolizes a mode of achieving liberation.