Ruysbroek (Allegory)
As soon as Larry came back home from the war, he started reading books, spending hours in libraries without any interruption. He considered himself “very ignorant”, but didn’t want to go to a college, for he didn’t believe that “the instructors would teach me the sorts of things I wanted to know”. He was especially interested in the eternal questions. The only one thing which was left to him was self-education. Ruysbroek, a famous mystic, to whom Larry used to refer a lot, became an allegory of the acquisition of knowledge, for he managed to find “an answer to the questions he was asking”, devoting all his life to the pursuit of God.
Money (Symbol)
Money is the symbol of success. The process of making money occupies minds and hearts of Gray Maturin, his father, Elliot and many others. Even Isabel decides that she would never be happy with Larry, if he is not going to “to make a lot of money”. The notions of money and success are so interrelated that it is impossible to separate one from another.
The acquisition of knowledge (Motif)
Larry believes that his main task is “the acquisition of knowledge”. He reads a lot, he thinks a lot and he travels a lot in order to get rid of his ignorance. He learns “half a dozen or so” languages, find a way to gain “peace”. He is not interested in money, for his greatest treasure is his knowledge. Above all else, he enjoys learning new things and constantly fills gaps in his education.
