The Roar

The specters haunting Mika’s nightmares have televisions for heads, an interesting comment about the insidious power of electronic devices. Even Gorman, the knife-sharpening monster in Mika’s dreams, is himself haunted by these visions, visions that hold up a disturbing mirror to show him his own true nature. Karl Marx once referred to religion as the opiate of the people, and the same could be said about television. Televisions, often the centerpiece of the home, give people a compelling place to rest their focus, distracting their senses and instincts—the ideal state of mind for an authoritarian government. Television is the primary medium by which the Northern Government broadcasts its misinformation about The Plague and its toxic aftermath. It’s also no accident that a video game—a different but no less addictive type of screen—is used to lure young people into the arcade and into Gorman’s clutches. Many have bemoaned the zombie effect displayed by people lost in their devices, but Emma Clayton makes that indictment visceral in her frightening depiction of the Telly Heads.

Awen, Mika’s “Dream Dog,” appears to him one night after his school suspends him for insubordination. His only knowledge of animals thus far has been government propaganda about The Plague, yet Mika feels oddly calm when Awen appears only inches from his face. Awen arrives when Mika needs a companion, and Awen fits the bill perfectly. Awen represents the forbidden world, a world of animals that should be accessible to all children but is restricted to protect the interests of a select few. Awen also acts as a warning system—much like a real dog—when danger is near. When a Telly Head holding a cup of spiders lurks inside Ellie’s cupboard, Awen growls in alarm. When Mika visits Helen’s apartment, Awen tries to warn him to stay away, and when Mika arrives, he finds men ransacking her apartment. Awen behaves like a real dog, but he is only a construction of Mika’s imagination, an imaginary friend who visits when he needs companionship or guidance.

One of the things Mika insists on keeping even a year after Ellie’s disappearance is her animal pictures, in particular, a group of mountain lions. More than just another symbol of the natural world, the holopic is a physical totem of Ellie’s presence, his strongest connection to his sister apart from their psychic bond. He carries it with him as a good luck charm, and while its power in that respect may be more psychological than actual, it buoys his spirits and gives Him resolve when he is at his lowest ebb. The picture reminds Mika not only of his sister but of an essential part of her character: her love of animals. This empathy is crucial to overcome the fear instilled by the lie of The Plague, and indeed, Ellie’s relationship with Puck the monkey, like her brother’s kinship with Awen, suggests that humans and animals not only can but must coexist in an often-hostile world.