Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Autobiography of Red, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Identity and Creativity
Communication and Mystery
Time
Self and World
Summary
Analysis
Geryon walks to school with his older brother, who likes to examine the stones he found on the way there. Geryon always struggles to find the door that leads to the Kindergarten wing of the school building, and his brother thinks he’s “stupid” and has grown impatient with him. At first, Geryon’s mother had to escort him to school, but now, she’s passed on the task to Geryon’s older brother. Today, he abandons Geryon outside the school.
This scene is essential in establishing Geryon’s relationship with his older brother. That Geryon’s brother doesn’t receive a proper name implies a distance between him and Geryon. Furthermore, Geryon’s brother’s decision to abandon Geryon and call him “stupid” portrays him as an aggressive bully.
Themes
Geryon looks inward at the “fires of his mind” and tries to visualize a map. Deciding that “justice is pure,” Geryon walks along the side of the building and stands outside the windows of the Kindergarten wing, waiting for someone to spot him and help him find his way inside. He stands silently, not knocking on the glass. He feels a penny in his pocket as the first snow falls around him.
The phrase “fires of his mind” implies that Geryon has internalized the redness that characterizes his world. It also suggests that Geryon has a very active, intense inner life, proving that his older brother’s assessment that he is stupid is incorrect. Lastly, this scene introduces the distinction between inside and outside, something Geryon appears to have difficulty with, as evidenced by his inability to find a way into the classroom, as well as the juxtaposition between Geryon’s unassuming demeanor and his “fire[y]” inner thoughts.
Themes
