Class Resentment
The motif of class resentment is prominent throughout the novel and ties in with the theme of class and class distinction. Billy Prior is the primary source of the resentment but that is primarily due to his status as "temporary gentleman", which means that due to his officer status in the military his class status has also risen, but without the war, and his officer status, it would not have done. Thus he is in a social no man's land where he does not know where he fits in. He is constantly observing the advantages that the upper classes receive, notably Captain Manning, who is able to escape any really serious trouble due to the "old boy network" of upper class friends and contacts upon whom he can rely for a favor.
There is also a willingness to sweep any trouble that the upper classes get into under the carpet and Billy resents this as well. Class resentment as a motif is also apparent in the sections of the book that deal with Billy's relationship with his father, who is a committed representative of the working classes. He does not want to raise the working classes up to middle class status but wants them to receive the priviledges he perceives that the middle and upper classes have, and is using the war as a tool to try to make this happen.
"Not Going To Scouts" as a Symbol
Billy, in describing his childhood friend Mack, tells Dr Rivers that he was very common and "did not go to Scouts." This statement is indicative of low class status and being very common as even the working class boys joined a Boy Scout troop. "Not going to Scouts" is a symbol of a class divide that is accepted but unspoken.
Homosexuality as a Motif
Throughout the book, there are references to homosexuality which was illegal at the time of World War One, but nonetheless accepted amongst the upper classes as something that just went on behind closed doors. Billy Prior is about to get engaged, but is bisexual, and aggressively so. He begins a "relationship" with Captain Manning, a married man who is likely a closet homosexual who would not have married at all had times been different. There are also frequent references to Oscar Wilde in the novel, the openly gay playwright and author who was actually imprisoned at one time after the war for his homosexuality. Most of the male characters in the book seem to be either gay, or struggling to deny their own sexuality.
Eye In The Door as a Symbol
The Eye in the Door that is first mentioned in Beattie's cell is a symbol of being watched at all times, but also a symbol of Billy Prior's distrust of himself. One of his more harrowing dreams involves an eyeball chasing him down the street and trying to kill him. Because he feels that he is being watched by his co-worker and internal spy, Spragge, the eyeball also symbolises Billy's general distrust, and borderline paranoia, about being watched. His job at the ministry of munitions involves keeping tabs on people whom he had considered friends, and this also explains his general discomfort that leads to dreams where he is both the spy and the one being spied on. There is much suspicion throughout the book and the Eye In The Door is the symbol of being watched wherever each character was at the time.
Gobstopper as a Symbol
The gobstopper is a symbol of the eyeball belonging to one of his men that Billy held in his hands on the battlefield. He held it up and said "what's this gobstopper" to another solider, shortly before being repatriated back to London suffereing from shell shock. During his dreams, Billy is subjected to being chased by gobstoppers and also equates them with the eye in the door that is also tormenting him. The gobstopper is also a symbol of the childhood times he shared with Hettie Roper, and with Beattie, who would serve him in her store and give him a shillings worth of gobstoppers. This is another reason why the gobstopper symbolizes the eye in Billy's thinking; he feels guilty for investigating the family he grew up with. The gobstopper is a symbol of his perceived betrayal of them.
