Hair (Symbol)
Snow White's hair functions as a symbol of sexual intrigue and an object of lust. When she hangs it out of the window, the dwarves all look at it separately and feel an immense attraction to it. Bill explicitly references the hair's sexual symbolism when he explains his lack of attraction to it. Her hair is also repeatedly characterized as "black as ebony," both a reference to the original fairytale from the Brothers Grimm's retelling and a method of establishing the hair's dark mystery. Snow White's psychology remains opaque to the dwarves and they fail to understand her; the black hair, obscure and dark, parallels the way that her psychology is a mystery to them.
The Shower (Symbol)
The dwarves want Snow White to come into the shower. Each one wants to go into the shower and have Snow White to himself. It represents the place where their desire and love can become intimate, confined within the shower and given privacy. When Bill stops being attracted to Snow White, he stops going into the shower with her, thus sacrificing the place of intimacy. There are also sexual undertones to this symbol; the shower is a place where one is naked, and so the shower also becomes a symbol of consummation and sex between Snow White and the dwarves.
The President (Allegory)
The President's narrative is about his inability to act as a leader or react to the distress he sees in the country. His name is vague—he is just the "President," not an individual president. This generalization makes his presence a commentary on all presidents, since he could be any president. He is an allegory of political impotence and the lack of action American presidents take in the United States' issues.
Drinking (Motif)
The dwarves and Hogo de Bergerac consume copious amounts of alcohol throughout the novel. Paul is poisoned by a Vodka Gibson that Jane makes. This motif is another way that the dwarves are transformed into "adult" versions of their original fairytale counterparts, since the seven dwarves in the original tale are cheerful and benevolent. Snow White's dwarves are depressive and engage in self-destructive habits, drinking themselves into a stupor and littering. Drinking, as a motif, further perverts the fairytale and forces the reader into the discomfort of seeing beloved fairytale characters as corrupt or abhorrent.
Chinese Baby Food (Symbol)
The dwarves make Chinese baby food in vats and sell it to make money. The comical, absurd nature of their product emphasizes the lack of meaning that many jobs have. There is no clear market in America for Chinese baby food, nor is it a "real" product that a reader would be familiar with. It is a symbol of the absurd dedication that people can have to their jobs, endlessly producing something that is comical and makes little sense.
