Prospero's Pelt (Motif)
The animal pelt that Felix chooses as part of Prospero's costume is a motif that reappears throughout the novel as a reminder of Felix's past and the power of the theater more generally. Before he decides to perform The Tempest at Fletcher Correctional, Felix intermittently finds the pelt stored away over the course of twelve years. The pelt is significant because it reminds Felix of where he once was -- Artistic Director at Makeshiweg -- and inspires him to stage The Tempest again when the time is right. The dull, dusty, old pelt looks unremarkable when held in his hands, but on the stage, it dazzles the audience with majesty, a testament to the efficacy of the theatrical space itself.
The Shanty (Symbol)
The shanty to which Felix flees after he is fired from Makeshiweg is an important symbol in the novel because it provides Felix with the isolation he needs in order to contemplate his revenge. Like The Tempest, Hag-Seed attributes the desire for revenge to being cut off from the rest of the world, and that is precisely what Felix finds the shack that he decides to rent. This space allows him to stand still -- that is, it provides an isolated environment for him to remain obsessed with vengeance and paralyzed by the grief over his late daughter.
Fletcher Correctional Facility (Allegory)
The space of the prison is an allegory for the island on which Prospero and Miranda live after Prospero is usurped as Duke of Milan. Like the island, the prison is unfamiliar to the "shipwrecked" men (in this case, the ministers of justice who come to see the performance), and Felix maintains control over its operation with the help of 8Handz. This allegorical connection between the island and the prison raises a number of questions about the contemporary justice system, namely the broad question of what constitutes a prison to begin with -- a question Felix poses to the inmates as they interpret the play on their own.
Chess (Motif)
Chess is a significant motif in the novel because it helps define the relationship Felix still retains between him and Miranda, who passed away when she was four years old. In the shanty, Felix often imagines playing chess with Miranda or teaching her how to play. This exchange between Felix and the imagined Miranda is significant because it suggests that Felix has "trapped" the memory of Miranda in a state of perpetual innocence: she rarely leaves the chessboard and is a reliable and comfortable fantasy to which Felix returns throughout the novel. As the book continues, however, "Miranda" begins to travel away from the shanty and ultimately Felix is able to "set her free" by moving through his grief.
Hag-Seed (Symbol)
"Hag-Seed" is a term that the players identify as a slur used to describe Caliban in The Tempest. It connotes the "seed of a hag," which refers to Caliban's mother, Sycorax. The term symbolizes the power dynamics in The Tempest -- in which Caliban is seen as the savage spawn of an evil witch -- which extend to the novel through the relationship between the inmates and the outside world. As such, the inmates are conflicted over Caliban because they both relate to him and the prejudice expressed against him and acknowledge that he is guilty of the attempted rape of Miranda. The parallel between Caliban and the prisoners raises questions about how the contemporary world interprets and addresses criminal activity and minority groups more generally.
