Geryon Character Analysis in Autobiography of Red

The protagonist, Geryon, is based on the monster Herakles slew in Greek mythology. The Geryon of the novel is a red-winged monster who lives on an island called “the Red Place,” located somewhere in the Atlantic. Geryon is a shy, introspective boy who is ashamed of his monstrosity. Longing to fit in with the ordinary humans he lives among, Geryon avoids flying and hides his wings. Although Geryon is initially close with Geryon’s mother, she fails to protect him from his older brother’s sexual abuse. The abuse prompts Geryon to retreat inward, hiding his “inside” life from the “outside” world and inspiring him to create an autobiography, which ultimately takes the form of a photographic essay. When Geryon is 14, he meets an older, confident, and carefree boy named Herakles, and they become inseparable, eventually developing a sexual relationship. As Geryon spends more time with Herakles, he becomes rebellious and drifts further apart from his mother, eventually fleeing to Hades, Herakles’s hometown. Although Geryon loves Herakles, Herakles doesn’t reciprocate this love, valuing personal freedom over the “captivity” of being in a committed relationship. In Hades, Herakles’s grandmother shows Geryon a photograph she took of a volcanic eruption that decimated Hades in 1923. She, Herakles, and Geryon visit the active volcano, and volcanoes become an artistic and intellectual focus for Geryon. Herakles suddenly breaks up with Geryon toward the end of his stay, devastating Geryon. Geryon is 22 the next time he sees Herakles, when he unexpectedly runs into him and his new lover, Ancash, on a trip to Buenos Aires. Geryon realizes he still has feelings for Herakles and accepts an invitation to follow the couple to Peru to visit Ancash’s mother and see an active volcano in Jucu, a remote village. Although Geryon and Ancash compete for Herakles’s affections, they have similarly reserved, gentle demeanors that put them at odds with brash Herakles. Despite Geryon ultimately betraying Ancash by having sex with Herakles, they develop an intimate connection. Furthermore, when Ancash sees Geryon’s wings, he admires them, likening Geryon to a winged mythological creature from his indigenous Quechua culture. Ancash urges Geryon to “use those wings,” something Geryon hasn’t done in years. Geryon later flies over the active volcano Jucu, a gesture of both intimacy with Ancash and self-affirmation. Geryon’s flight also helps him see that he no longer loves Herakles, who has never given him the intimacy he desires.

Geryon Quotes in Autobiography of Red

The Autobiography of Red quotes below are all either spoken by Geryon or refer to Geryon. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Adjectives seem fairly innocent additions but look again. These small imported mechanisms are in charge of attaching everything in the world to its place in particularity. They are the latches of being.

Related Characters: Stesichoros, Geryon

Page Number and Citation: 3

Explanation and Analysis:

This passage occurs at the beginning of an introductory essay where Carson establishes a literary and historical context for her retelling of Stesichoros’s poem Geryoneis. The essay underscores the importance of language and its ability to create meaning, focusing on how Stesichoros’s innovative use of adjectives to impart multiple, unfixed meanings onto nouns departs from the classical tradition, which used adjectives to convey essential, fixed meanings. Carson’s description of adjectives as “latches of being” indicates that adjectives don’t merely describe the world: they create it, providing a blueprint that informs each person of how to make sense of their own Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam doloremque eum. Animi soluta perspiciatis. Ut minima autem. Modi omnis iure. Sint qui qui. Qui similique p

For no reason that anyone can name, Stesichoros began to undo the latches. Stesichoros released being. All the substances in the world went floating up. Suddenly there was nothing to interfere with horses being hollow hooved. Or a river being root silver.

Related Characters: Stesichoros, Geryon

Page Number and Citation: 3

Explanation and Analysis:

In the introductory essay that precedes the main story, Carson attempts to answer the question posed in the essay’s title: “What Difference Did Stesichoros Make?” To answer this question, Carson turns to Stesichoros’s innovative use of adjectives to “undo the latches” imposed on reality by the fixed meanings conventionally attached to words in the classical tradition. This passage outlines how Stesichoros’s writings use figurative language to “release[] being.” She cites a few examples to show how Stesichoros’s application of unusual adjectives allows for new interpretations of previously accepted modes of being. Carson states, “Suddenly there was nothing to interfere with Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore

Once she said the meaning
it would stay.

Related Characters: Geryon, Geryon’s Mother, Geryon’s Brother, Geryon’s Grandmother

Page Number and Citation: 26

Explanation and Analysis:

When Geryon is a young boy, he asks his mother what the word “each” means. She uses the example of Geryon and his older brother having separate rooms to illustrate the concept that an individual has their own distinct consciousness and way of experiencing the world. As a young child, Geryon turns to his mother to educate him about aspects of the world that he’s unfamiliar with. As is always the case, “once she said the meaning / it would stay.” This passage shows how significantly Geryon’s mother shapes his sense of the world. It also illustrates Geryon’s willingness to Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae c

Inside is mine, he thought.

Related Characters: Geryon (speaker), Geryon’s Brother, Geryon’s Grandmother

Page Number and Citation: 29

Explanation and Analysis:

When Geryon is a young child, his grandmother moves in with the family. The change in their household forces Geryon to share a room with his older brother, who proceeds to sexually abuse him. Geryon has only just begun to understand the boundaries that separate the self from others, and the abuse—a cruel and traumatic overstep of this boundary—shatters his developing understanding of where the self ends and others begin. While the abuse blurs the lines between self and other, it strengthens what Geryon comes to understand as the “outside” world—the world he inhabits as a physical being with a Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Ve

Up against another human being one’s own procedures take on deﬁnition.

Related Characters: Geryon, Geryon’s Mother, Herakles

Page Number and Citation: 42

Explanation and Analysis:

Geryon sits at the table with his mother, unable to answer her questions about his new friend Herakles, and reflects on how falling in love with Herakles has changed him. This quote points to how a person comes to understand themselves through their relationships with others. As Geryon sits with his mother, he realizes that he cannot (or is unwilling to) find the words to describe his relationship with Herakles. Geryon’s loss for words is the first time he explicitly acknowledges to himself how stilted his relationship with his mother has become, particularly since they were so close when Geryon Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic

“How does distance look?” is a simple direct question. It extends from a spaceless
within to the edge
of what can be loved.

Related Characters: Geryon, Geryon’s Mother, Herakles

Page Number and Citation: 43

Explanation and Analysis:

Geryon’s mother has just confronted him about spending all this time with Herakles and becoming a stranger to her. Finding himself unable to respond to his mother aloud, Geryon turns inward to consider her concerns. “How does distance look?” he asks himself, referring to the figurative distance that has developed between himself and his mother. Geryon proceeds to answer his own question, defining distance as “extend[ing] from a spaceless / within to the edge / of what can be loved.” Geryon’s observation describes distance as the substance that separates the “spaceless / within” of an individual’s separate consciousness from those Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. A

What if you took a ﬁfteen-minute exposure of a man in jail, let’s say the lava
has just reached his window?
he asked. I think you are confusing subject and object, she said.
Very likely, said Geryon.

Related Characters: Herakles’s Grandmother (speaker), Geryon (speaker), Herakles

Related Symbols: Volcano

Page Number and Citation: 51

Explanation and Analysis:

Geryon is fascinated and disturbed by Herakles’s grandmother’s photograph, “Red Patience,” a 15-minute exposure photograph that depicts a 1923 volcanic eruption that destroyed Hades (Herakles’s hometown). Inspired to create his own 15-minute exposure photograph, Geryon floats the idea of a hypothetical photo “of a man in jail” as the “lava […] reache[s] his window.” Herakles’s grandmother’s suggestion that Geryon is “confusing subject and object” illuminates a distinction between how Geryon frames this hypothetical photograph of imminent death and what he actually meant to say. Geryon insinuates that his photograph would be “of a man in jail”—that is, the man in Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam doloremque eum. Animi soluta perspiciatis. Ut minima autem. Mod

All your designs are about captivity, it depresses me.

Related Characters: Herakles (speaker), Geryon

Page Number and Citation: 55

Explanation and Analysis:

Geryon and Herakles are painting graffiti around Herakles’s hometown of Hades. Geryon has been painting a pair of wings with the phrase “LOVESLAVE” beneath them, an implicit nod to his devotion to Herakles. Herakles, whose graffiti depicts more subversive messages, takes issue with Geryon’s messages, which “are all about captivity.” Herakles’s complaint sheds light on their opposite ideas about freedom, which ultimately leads Herakles to end their relationship. Herakles values individual freedom and personal satisfaction. As such, he regards the commitment a monogamous relationship requires to be “depress[ing]” and burdensome. Embedded in Herakles’s disdain for commitment is his belief that Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut

I am a drop of gold he would say
I am molten matter returned from the core of earth to tell you interior things

Related Characters: Herakles’s Grandmother (speaker), Lava Man (speaker), Geryon, Ancash

Related Symbols: Wings , Volcano

Page Number and Citation: 59

Explanation and Analysis:

Herakles’s grandmother tells Geryon about Lava Man, the only survivor of the 1923 earthquake that destroyed Hades. Alive but physically scarred, Lava Man supposedly went on to tour with the circus. He would claim to spectators that he’d been to “the core of earth” and returned, now “made of molten matter,” to tell ignorant mortals of the “interior things” he had learned during his travels to the Earth’s core. Lava Man embodies what Geryon most desires but cannot achieve: the ability to articulate his “interior” existence and be seen and validated by the outside world. Being “made of molten matter,” Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. M

Reality is a sound, you have to tune in to it not just keep yelling.

Related Characters: Geryon, Herakles

Page Number and Citation: 60

Explanation and Analysis:

Each chapter of the main story of Autobiography of Red begins with a line of verse that outlines the central development or theme fleshed out in the chapter. This quote is the opening line of Chapter XIX. It expands on the idea that one’s sense of “reality” and one’s sense of self comes from one’s experiences with the outside world. The passage underscores the idea that reality is participatory and interactive rather than something fixed that people can objectively observe and control. When the book claims that “reality is a sound,” it implies that a person’s understanding of reality comes Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima por

How do you think it feels
growing up in a house full
of empty fruit bowls? His voice was high.
His eyes met hers and they began
to laugh. They laughed
until tears ran down. Then they sat quiet. Drifted back
to opposite walls.

Related Characters: Geryon (speaker), Geryon’s Mother, Herakles, Geryon’s Brother

Page Number and Citation: 68-69

Explanation and Analysis:

Freshly heartbroken by Herakles’s decision to end their relationship, Geryon returns home to his mother and confronts her about her emotional unavailability. He motions to the empty fruit bowl that has sat on their kitchen table since he was a young child and asks, “How do you think it feels / growing up in a house full / of empty fruit bowls?” Geryon’s question repurposes the empty fruit bowl as a metaphor for his mother’s inability to protect him from his brother’s abuse and provide him with the emotional sustenance he needs. After the abuse begins, Geryon grows distant from Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. No

Geryon’s life entered a numb time, caught between the tongue and the taste.

Related Characters: Geryon, Herakles, Geryon’s Brother

Page Number and Citation: 72

Explanation and Analysis:

Geryon returns home after his breakup with Herakles. The breakup devastates Geryon, whose “life enter[s] a numb time.” Throughout his adolescence and early adulthood, Geryon’s journey is to overcome the shame he feels about his monstrosity and develop intimate connections with others. Geryon recognizes that his sense of self is an amalgamation of others’ thoughts about him, so the breakup reinforces the negativity and self-doubt he has learned to internalize over a lifetime of being othered by his monstrous characteristics. The breakup makes him feel unworthy of love. He grows “numb” for the same reason he grew numb and turned Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eu

Yellow? said Geryon and he was thinking Yellow! Yellow! Even in dreams
he doesn’t know me at all! Yellow!

Related Characters: Geryon (speaker), Herakles

Related Symbols: Red, Wings

Page Number and Citation: 74

Explanation and Analysis:

Geryon speaks with Herakles for the first time since their breakup. Herakles calls to tell Geryon about a dream he had in which Geryon resurrected a drowned yellow bird. This passage illustrates Geryon’s inability to reconcile his love for Herakles with Herakles’s inability to love or understand him back. It also shows how Geryon, too, fails to convey his true thoughts to Herakles. The first indicator to Geryon that Herakles “doesn’t know him at all” is that the bird in the dream is yellow. Geryon is appalled that Herakles’s unconscious would tie Geryon to the color yellow because Geryon’s redness Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. In

A man moves through time. It means nothing except that, like a harpoon, once thrown he will arrive.

Related Characters: Geryon

Page Number and Citation: 81

Explanation and Analysis:

Geryon reads about the Yamana, an indigenous people of Argentina, during his flight to Argentina. One passage from his guidebook mentions how the Yamana fashion harpoons out of whale jawbones, and Geryon applies this imagery to his long-held anxieties about the uncontrollable nature of time and the certainty of mortality. Geryon observes how life, the trajectory by which “man moves through time,” is essentially meaningless. That is, a person’s life has no fixed, essential meaning beyond what one decides their life means. While a person can go to great lengths to be introspective and decide who they are, what they Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Acc

There is no person without a world.

Related Characters: Geryon, Geryon’s Brother

Page Number and Citation: 82

Explanation and Analysis:

This quote is the opening line of Chapter XXVII, which introduces Café Mitwelt, the cafe where Geryon spends much of his time in Buenos Aires. Each chapter of Autobiography of Red begins with a single line of verse that typically outlines the core theme that the chapter explores. As this passage suggests, Chapter XXVII grapples with how people construct their sense of self from their relationship to the outside world. “There is no person without a world” means that a person cannot understand themselves outside of their relationships with others. Such a stance embodies the philosophy Geryon gravitates toward as Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut.

It was not the fear of ridicule,
to which everyday life as a winged red person had accommodated Geryon early in life,
but this blank desertion of his own mind
that threw him into despair.

Related Characters: Geryon

Related Symbols: Red, Wings

Page Number and Citation: 83

Explanation and Analysis:

Geryon urgently leaves Café Mitwelt in Buenos Aires after becoming paranoid that a waiter who approached his table had noticed his wings and redness and was going to call the police. Geryon was wrong—the waiter had only wanted to refill his coffee—and he admonishes himself for being so neurotic and afraid of judgment. This passage deepens the reader’s understanding of Geryon’s alienation. While it’s true that Geryon is self-conscious about how others see his wings, years of feeling different have “accommodated Geryon” to “the fear of ridicule.” Here, Geryon explains that it’s really “this blank desertion of his own mind Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in.

[…] Time isn’t made of anything. It is an abstraction.
Just a meaning that we
impose upon motion.

Related Characters: The Yellowbeard (speaker), Geryon

Page Number and Citation: 90

Explanation and Analysis:

Geryon meets “the yellowbeard,” a philosophy professor, on a trip to Buenos Aires and asks him what has become Geryon’s favorite question: “What is time made of?” The yellowbeard’s response dissatisfies Geryon because it denies him the ability to assign a stable, quantifiable meaning to time. Throughout the novel, Geryon struggles with accepting the inevitability of uncertainty and the uncontrollable nature of time. In asking people this question, he is searching for a tangible answer—something he can internalize and quantify to make better sense of his place in the world and the trajectory of his life. Geryon believes that time Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inven

It is
because of her I began to notice moments of death. Children make you see distances.

Related Characters: Lazer (speaker), Geryon, Herakles’s Grandmother

Related Symbols: Volcano

Page Number and Citation: 94

Explanation and Analysis:

Geryon meets a philosopher named Lazer, with whom he has a meaningful conversation about time, mortality, and “distances.” The conversation touches on many of the central conflicts that plague Geryon throughout the novel—namely, how to reconcile his alienation and the uncontrollable, immeasurable nature of time. Lazer speaks of his young daughter, who makes him “notice moments of death.” He illustrates his point by describing a dream in which his daughter ascends one side of a mountain while he descends the other. The vast distance between their relative positions on the mountain symbolizes their different places in life: Lazer is relatively Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus h

You can’t be alive and think about nothing.

Related Characters: Geryon (speaker), Tango Singer

Page Number and Citation: 103

Explanation and Analysis:

While speaking to a tango singer at a tango club in Buenos Aires, Geryon recalls visiting captive beluga whales at the aquarium as a child. He asks the tango singer what she thinks the captive whales think about, and she replies, “Nothing.” Geryon challenges her answer, arguing, “You can’t be alive and think about nothing.” The singer accuses Geryon of projecting his own feelings of guilt about their captivity onto the whales. Although Geryon rejects the accusation, it’s fitting with Geryon’s character to relate to a creature held in captivity. Geryon’s insistence that the captive whales must have rich interior Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro

“…I will never know how you see red and you will never know how I see it.”

Related Characters: Geryon, Ancash

Related Symbols: Red, Wings

Page Number and Citation: 105

Explanation and Analysis:

Geryon reads this statement in a book called Philosophic Problems in a bookstore in Buenos Aires. The statement resonates with Geryon, who feels alienated and ashamed of his red wings, a glaring reminder of his monstrosity. Beyond redness, the book also resonates with Geryon’s broader anxieties about the distance that emerges between people due to their separate consciousnesses. This excerpt from Philosophic Problems fleshes out this concept, using the infinite number of ways to “see red” to demonstrate how having separate consciousness makes people essentially unknowable to one another. But while distance, unfamiliarity, and uncertainty frequently cause Geryon to despair, Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Poss

I’m a master of monsters aren’t I?

Related Characters: Herakles (speaker), Geryon, Ancash

Related Symbols: Wings

Page Number and Citation: 129

Explanation and Analysis:

Herakles climbs onto the roof and interrupts the moment of intimacy that Geryon and Ancash share after Ancash accidentally removes Geryon’s overcoat to reveal his wings. In an effort to diffuse the seriousness, Herakles jokes, “I’m a master of monsters aren’t I?” The moment highlights the cruelty that underlies Herakles’s superficiality and cavalier attitude. It’s also a critical moment in teaching Geryon to get over Herakles, and that the love he remembers sharing with Herakles likely never existed in the first place. Herakles’s remark is cruel and—whether intentionally or unintentionally—shatters the moment of self-affirmation Geryon has achieved through being seen Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus

What Geryon was thinking Herakles never asked. In the space between them
developed a dangerous cloud.

Related Characters: Geryon, Herakles, Ancash, Ancash’s Mother

Related Symbols: Volcano

Page Number and Citation: 132

Explanation and Analysis:

On the drive to Huaraz with Herakles, Ancash, and Ancash’s mother, Geryon considers how Herakles failed to express interest in Geryon’s inner life when they were romantically involved years ago. His ruminations make him realize that the idyllic romance he has created in his mind in the years since the breakup has been a fantasy rather than a realistic depiction of their relationship, which was largely characterized by emotional distance and unhappiness. Geryon uses volcanic imagery to describe his and Herakles’s doomed relationship: “in the space between them developed a dangerous cloud,” he remarks. This metaphor compares their emotional distance Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molest

A volcano is not a mountain like others. Raising a camera to one’s face has effects
no one can calculate in advance.

Related Characters: Geryon, Ancash, Ancash’s Mother, Herakles

Related Symbols: Volcano

Page Number and Citation: 135

Explanation and Analysis:

Geryon visits Huaraz, Ancash’s mother’s hometown, with Herakles and Ancash. Although Geryon feels lonely and unseen because his companions are speaking either Spanish or Quechua, neither of which he can speak or understand, he decides that the trip is worth it for the photographs it allows him to take, especially of the volcano. This passage is significant because it explicitly casts photography as Geryon’s means of communicating with the outside world and letting his inner world be known. Although he cannot share his thoughts—his inner world—with his companions verbally, he can express himself through photography, the primary medium he uses Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque

There is one thing I want from you.
Tell me.
Want to see you use those wings.

Related Characters: Ancash (speaker), Geryon (speaker), Herakles

Related Symbols: Wings , Volcano

Page Number and Citation: 144

Explanation and Analysis:

In the garden of their hotel in Huaraz, Ancash confronts Geryon about having sex with Herakles. Although Ancash is initially angry about the betrayal and hits Geryon, he immediately calms down, tends to Geryon’s wounds, and engages him in an honest conversation that leads Geryon to confront the reality that he has fallen out of love with Herakles. Before parting ways, Ancash tells Herakles that he “want[s] to see [him] use those wings,” recalling an earlier interaction between the two men where Ancash accidentally saw the wings Geryon usually hides from the world. Ancash reacted tenderly to the wings and Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum.

This is for Ancash, he calls to the earth diminishing below. This is a memory of our
beauty.

Related Characters: Geryon (speaker), Ancash, Herakles

Related Symbols: Red, Wings , Volcano

Page Number and Citation: 145

Explanation and Analysis:

This passage comes from the penultimate chapter of Geryon’s story, when he heeds Ancash’s advice and uses his wings to soar over the volcano in Jucu. This is an important moment for Geryon as a character because it’s the first time the novel depicts him flying, which symbolizes the successful melding of Geryon’s inner self and outer self. At long last, he displays his monstrosity in an act of public self-affirmation. Midflight, Geryon peers down at “the earth diminishing below” and dedicates his flight to Ancash as “a memory of [their] beauty.” For much of the novel, Geryon struggles to Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit n

We are amazing beings,
Geryon is thinking. We are neighbors of ﬁre.
And now time is rushing towards them
where they stand side by side with arms touching, immortality on their faces, night at their back.

Related Characters: Geryon (speaker), Ancash, Herakles, Stesichoros

Related Symbols: Wings , Volcano

Page Number and Citation: 146

Explanation and Analysis:

This is the final line of Geryon’s story (and of the book, excluding the brief interview of Stesichoros that comes afterward). Geryon, Herakles, and Ancash stand before men baking bread in a hole in the volcano’s slope in Jucu. Geryon considers the flames flickering inside the slope and has a moment of appreciation for his companions. “We are amazing beings,” he reflects, referring to himself and the people surrounding him as “neighbors of fire.” They are “neighbors of fire” and have “immortality on their faces” by virtue of the flames that flicker across each of their faces. The shadow that Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam doloremque eum. Animi soluta perspiciatis. Ut minima autem. Modi omnis iure. Sint qui qui. Qui similique praesentium. Ex consequatur magnam. Aliquid iste enim. Sequi aut maxime. Adipisci volu

Geryon Character Timeline in Autobiography of Red

The timeline below shows where the character Geryon appears in Autobiography of Red. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Autobiography of Red opens with an introductory essay about Stesichoros, the poet who wrote Geryoneis, a lyric poem about the myth of Geryon. Stesichoros was born around 650 B.C.E. in... (full context)

Carson shifts her attention to Geryon, the Greek mythic figure on whom Stesichoros wrote an extended lyric poem. Only fragments of... (full context)

Carson presents 16 fragments of Stesichoros’s poem Geryoneis, translated by Carson. In “I. Geryon,” the poet describes Geryon, the monster, detailing the redness... (full context)

In “II. Meanwhile He Came,” Herakles spots red smoke and makes his way toward Geryon. In “III. Geryon’s Parents,” Geryon’s parents send him to his room for wearing his mask... (full context)

“VIII. Geryon’s Father” describes Geryon’s father, who “sucks words” and “stand[s] in the doorway.” The next fragment,... (full context)

In “XI. Right,” Geryon sits beside his dog and wonders how many little boys think they are monsters. “XII.... (full context)

Geryon walks to school with his older brother, who likes to examine the stones he found... (full context)

Geryon looks inward at the “fires of his mind” and tries to visualize a map. Deciding... (full context)

When Geryon is little, he loves sleeping, but mostly he loves waking up. Each new day marks... (full context)

One day, Geryon’s grandmother comes to live with them after suffering a bad fall, forcing Geryon to move... (full context)

The next day, the brothers go to the beach. Geryon’s brother finds a dollar and gives it to Geryon. Geryon finds a piece of a... (full context)

Geryon’s mother scolds Geryon for picking at a wound on his lip. After she leaves, the... (full context)

The babysitter enters the room, and Geryon’s brother moves away from Geryon. The babysitter accuses Geryon of sulking. Geryon asks her the... (full context)

The babysitter reads to Geryon in Geryon and his brother’s room. Geryon’s brother enters and snaps Geryon’s leg with a... (full context)

Geryon likes Tuesdays best. On the second Tuesday of each winter month, Geryon’s father and brother... (full context)

Geryon’s mother stands at the ironing board, lights a cigarette, and watches Geryon. Geryon’s mother repeatedly... (full context)

Geryon finally learns how to write. His mother’s friend, Maria, gives him a notebook from Japan.... (full context)

At a parent-teacher conference that Geryon attends with his mother, the teacher asks Geryon’s mother where he gets his ideas and... (full context)

Geryon reaches adolescence. He meets Herakles at the Bus Depot late one Friday night. Herakles gets... (full context)

At home, Geryon’s mother asks Geryon about the new kid he’s been hanging out with all the time.... (full context)

Geryon has been seeing Herakles every day, and he feels “loose and shiny” when he’s with... (full context)

Geryon and Herakles are parked on the side of the highway. Geryon says he should go... (full context)

Geryon and Herakles graffiti “SPIRIT RULES SECRETLY ALONE THE BODY ACHIEVES NOTHING” on a high school... (full context)

Geryon wakes up. It’s the middle of the night, and the air is hot. He lies... (full context)

Geryon wakes up and hears the sound of Herakles’s family talking downstairs. He walks downstairs and... (full context)

Geryon finds the photograph Herakles’s grandmother took of the 1923 eruption “disturbing,” though he doesn’t know... (full context)

Geryon’s wings rub painfully against each other. He fashions a makeshift brace out of a wooden... (full context)

Geryon has sex with Herakles. It makes him feel “clear and powerful” rather than wounded. He... (full context)

Geryon and Herakles paint graffiti later that night. Geryon paints a pair of red wings and... (full context)

It’s dark by the time the boys return to Herakles’s house. Geryon goes to Herakles’s mother’s room to use the phone to call home. When he gets... (full context)

Geryon heads back downstairs without calling Geryon’s mother. He joins Herakles and Herakles’s grandmother on the... (full context)

Geryon asks Herakles’s grandmother about what became of the Lava Man. Herakles’s grandmother explains that the... (full context)

Geryon wakes from a dream and listens to the sounds of Hades around him. He likes... (full context)

...being “What is the Holy Ghost?” Herakles’s grandmother joked that the question was “truly electrical.” Geryon offers “what time of day did Krakatoa erupt” as an alternate last question; he’s been... (full context)

Herakles changes the subject to Geryon’s mother’s phone call last night. He asks if Geryon should be getting home soon. Geryon... (full context)

Geryon drifts in and out of sleep as he, Herakles, and Herakles’s grandmother drive to the... (full context)

...rate. Herakles and his grandmother sing “Joy to the World” on the drive down, but Geryon remains silent. (full context)

Geryon and Herakles return from the video store in the midst of an argument. Geryon claims... (full context)

...story about going to the 1936 St. Croix Olympics to photograph skiers. Herakles goes inside. Geryon and Herakles’s grandmother talk about her other photograph, “Red Patience.” She’s upset it’s hanging in... (full context)

Herakles’s grandmother quotes Yeats, “Gaiety transfiguring all that dread.” Geryon says Yeats was actually talking about politics, but Herakles’s grandmother claims he was talking about... (full context)

Geryon returns home on a bus. He spent most of the trip in tears. When he... (full context)

Geryon is now a self-professed “brokenheart.” He remembers his breakup every morning, and fresh waves of... (full context)

Geryon enters a dark period of his life. He works in a library sorting government files.... (full context)

The phone rings, and Geryon answers it. It’s Herakles. They engage in some small talk. Herakles mentions doing some graffiti... (full context)

Herakles tells Geryon the dream is “a freedom dream,” which is what Herakles wants for Geryon, as his... (full context)

It’s dark outside when Geryon returns. He goes to his room, undresses, and observes himself in the mirror. He lies... (full context)

Geryon is packing. He’s now 22 and living on the mainland. Geryon’s mother calls to express... (full context)

The airplane flies through the clouds. Geryon remembers seeing a dog seized by rabies, its body jerking around on the ground. Geryon... (full context)

The video screen in front of Geryon shows that the plane will arrive at Geryon’s layaway in Bermuda at 10 minutes to... (full context)

Geryon, the “red monster,” sits at a table in Café Mitwelt writing Heidegger onto postcards he... (full context)

Geryon wonders if he’s gone mad. He remembers a science project he worked on as a... (full context)

It’s nearly dawn. Geryon has been walking for an hour. He steps inside Café Mitwelt and writes a postcard... (full context)

The yellowbeard tells Geryon that he flew in from Irvine and is giving a talk at 3:00 about Emotionlessness,... (full context)

Geryon is sociable despite being a monster. He and the yellowbeard take a taxi to the... (full context)

Geryon and the yellowbeard arrive at the University of Buenos Aires. They head to the Faculty... (full context)

Geryon and the yellowbeard make their way into a classroom where yellowbeard delivers his talk. Geryon... (full context)

Geryon is in his hotel room developing photographs. He has long asked the question, “What is... (full context)

Geryon accompanies the yellowbeard and the other philosophers to a bar 10 minutes later. The yellowbeard... (full context)

Lazer gets up to leave and tells Geryon he has enjoyed their conversation. Geryon remains behind and listens to the other philosophers talk.... (full context)

Back at his hotel room that night, Geryon takes a black-and-white photograph of himself naked and in the fetal position, his wings spread... (full context)

Geryon wakes in the middle of the night and feels panicked. He observes the empty street... (full context)

Geryon leaves his hotel room and heads toward the harbor. He hears voices coming from a... (full context)

Geryon falls asleep. When he wakes, the bar is empty, and the lights are off. The... (full context)

Geryon suddenly remembers a school dance. He'd been sweating through his brother's sports jacket and not... (full context)

Geryon returns to the present. He’s still sitting across from the tango singer and asks her... (full context)

Geryon sits in his hotel room and thinks about “the cracks and fissures of his inner... (full context)

Geryon puts his book down and heads outside. It’s Saturday night, and the streets of Buenos... (full context)

Geryon hears a kissing sound behind him and looks up from his reading. Outside, a workman... (full context)

Later that day, Geryon joins Herakles and his companion, Ancash, at Café Mitwelt. Herakles tells Geryon that he and... (full context)

Geryon listens as Ancash narrates the recorded sounds, explaining how the air is so hot “it... (full context)

Geryon stares at a blank TV screen in his hotel room. It’s been two days since... (full context)

Not long after, Geryon is eating at Café Mitwelt with Ancash, who is from Peru and “as beautiful as... (full context)

Geryon, Herakles, and Ancash walk through the streets. They see women who turn out to be... (full context)

...strap that binds the tiger to the carousel. When Herakles is preoccupied with the tiger, Geryon asks Ancash if he can photograph him sometime. When Ancash reasons with Herakles that there’s... (full context)

Geryon sits between Herakles and Ancash on the plane to Peru and feels aroused. He hadn’t... (full context)

It’s Saturday morning in Lima. Geryon stands on the roof of the house, surrounded by chimneys and clotheslines. Ancash joins him,... (full context)

Ancash stands beside Geryon and stares down at the city. Traffic fills the streets, and Geryon can hear dogs... (full context)

Herakles asks Geryon if he’s seen the roomful of parrots at the front of the house. The birds... (full context)

Geryon walks along the seawall and watches people before heading back to the roof. He wonders... (full context)

Geryon returns to the roof. Ancash appears holding a blanket and notices Geryon shivering. He offers... (full context)

Ancash and Geryon remain on the roof. Once more, Geryon instructs Ancash to remove his coat, explaining that... (full context)

Ancash orders Geryon to sit beside him and tells him about a mountain village north of Huaraz called... (full context)

...wants to show him the town. They’ll stay there for the weekend. Suddenly, Herakles notices Geryon’s exposed wings and jokes about being “a master of monsters.” Geryon mumbles at him to... (full context)

After Ancash leaves, Geryon stares at the Pacific Ocean, which looks red and gives off a feeling of “desire.”... (full context)

Geryon sits in the backseat as he, Ancash, Ancash’s mother, and Herakles prepare to drive to... (full context)

...road up a mountain. They’re entirely alone on the road, and Herakles is uncharacteristically quiet. Geryon considers how he had no idea what Herakles was thinking, even when they were dating.... (full context)

Geryon, Herakles, Ancash, and Ancash’s mother reach Huaraz. The elevation is high enough to give a... (full context)

This chapter describes a photograph Geryon calls “Origin of Time.” In the photograph, four people sit at a table. It takes... (full context)

This photograph depicts a close-up image of Geryon’s pant leg. Geryon points his camera out the car window as he, Ancash, Ancash’s mother,... (full context)

...four armed soldiers appear out of nowhere and surround the car. Quietly, Ancash’s mother pushes Geryon’s camera between his knees, where it is out of view. (full context)

This photograph depicts two burros grazing in a field. Geryon considers the burros, which are all there is to see outside his car window. Geryon... (full context)

...plate surrounded by cabbage and yams. The animal’s freshly cooked flesh sizzles. She stares at Geryon. Herakles, Ancash, Ancash’s mother, and the four soldiers who invited them to join them for... (full context)

This photograph depicts Herakles’s naked back. When they used to make love, Geryon would touch each bone on Herakles’s back. After they have sex this time, Geryon starts... (full context)

Geryon considers that the photograph he took of Herakles’s back doesn’t actually depict “old times.” He... (full context)

After a pause, Ancash instructs Geryon to sit next to him on the bench. He asks Geryon if Geryon loves Herakles.... (full context)

...says nothing and gets up. He begins to walk away but turns around to tell Geryon that the only thing he wants from Geryon is “to see [Geryon] use those wings.”... (full context)

This photograph depicts a hypothetical photograph that Geryon never took. Geryon stands beside Ancash’s bed, where Ancash lies, half asleep. Geryon has a... (full context)

Herakles, Geryon, and Ancash spent the day fighting but now roam the streets of Jucu on this... (full context)

...volcano and a guinea pig is not a description.” Next, the interviewer tries to discuss Geryon, the hero of Stesichoros’s poem. Stesichoros states that Geryon is red and suggests “a link... (full context)

Geryon Character Analysis

Geryon Quotes in Autobiography of Red

Red Meat: What Difference Did Stesichoros Make? Quotes

Chapter 2 Quotes

Chapter 9 Quotes

Chapter 14 Quotes

Chapter 17 Quotes

Chapter 18 Quotes

Chapter 19 Quotes

Chapter 22 Quotes

Chapter 24 Quotes

Chapter 26 Quotes

Chapter 27 Quotes

Chapter 29 Quotes

Chapter 30 Quotes

Chapter 31 Quotes

Chapter 32 Quotes

Chapter 37 Quotes

Chapter 38 Quotes

Chapter 39 Quotes

Chapter 45 Quotes

Chapter 46 Quotes

Chapter 47 Quotes

Geryon Character Timeline in Autobiography of Red