The carnival scene in Chapter 15 is full of vivid visual imagery and personification that establishes the surrealism of this otherworldly realm:
[The detectives] were led out of another broad and low gateway into a very large old English garden, full of torches and bonfires, by the broken light of which a vast carnival of people were dancing in motley dress. Syme seemed to see every shape in nature imitated in some crazy costume. There was a man dressed as a windmill with enormous sails, a man dressed as an elephant, a man dressed as a balloon; the two last, together, seemed to keep the thread of their farcical adventures. [...] There was a dancing lamppost, a dancing apple tree, a dancing ship. One would have thought that the untamable tune of some mad musician had set all the common objects of field and street dancing an eternal jig.
In the passage above, Chesterton’s literary imagination comes forward in full force as he fills the moment with an abundance of absurd details, including personifying inanimate objects (the dancing lamppost, apple tree, and ship). With this chapter, reality is left behind in favor of fantasy in order for Chesterton to explore the novel's philosophical questions about faith, identity, and the dichotomy of order and chaos. The carnival is meant to illustrate God’s capacity for creation and invention, imbuing the moment with a distinct sense of wonder that affirms the presence and superiority of a higher power.
