Symbolism in The Truman Show
• Truman
• He is the 'true man' – the only real person in Seahaven (apart from Sylvia
briefly) – and as such symbolises 'Everyman'. He is a person to relate to
rather than laugh at. He symbolises humanity's fundamental disposition for
goodness and decency.
• Sylvia
• She represents truth – she tells Truman that the world he knows is a lie. She
is the only character whose affection for him is genuine and without selfinterest, and as such represents real love, one of the highest states of human
goodness, in contrast with the faked love of Meryl and Marlon.
• Christof
• ego, power and the abuse of power
• More specifically, he symbolises the giant media companies, news
organisations, and media-politicians that have a stake in keeping us
surrounded by falsehood and offer rewards to keep us enslaved.
• Christof is also a form of Christopher, which means Christ-bearer; in the
Catholic tradition, he bears up travellers in the name of Christ. In a religious
interpretation of the film, he can be seen as an 'off-Christ', a sort of antichrist
or parody of Christ (Lucifer). Or on other levels, a megalomaniacal
Hollywood producer, or just an overbearing parent
• Fiji
• an idealised alternative to Truman's stifling home, it focuses the two great
desires for Truman: adventure and exploring the unknown, and Sylvia. To
him it symbolises freedom to be himself.
• Seahaven
• the illusionary human-made Paradise; symbolises the comfortable prisons
people make for themselves (their 'comfort zone')
• the moon
• a metaphor for the all-seeing, all-knowing control: cf 'Big Brother is
watching you' (1984), or the 'Eye' in The Handmaid's Tale.
• eyes
• true love and truth; it is significant that Truman and Sylvia first connect by
look rather than words; in the library, she says she is not supposed to talk to
him, and writes "Now" on paper for him to read.
• Bible: 'The light of the body is in the eye.' [Matthew 6, 22]
• Cicero: 'The face is a picture of the mind as the eyes are its interpreter.'
• Hegel: 'through the eyes we look into a man's soul.'
• the French say, 'The eyes are the mirror of the soul.'
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the sea
A complex symbol. Traditionally symbolises birth; water is associated with rebirth
(baptism). Truman seems to die in the storm but is 'reborn' stronger than ever.
The sea literally and metaphorically keeps Truman imprisoned. Because of the
'death' of his father, to him it means chaos, separation and death. It is Truman's
greatest fear – and it is this fear he must overcome before he can be reborn as a new
person in the real world.
On an allegorical level, the sea can be seen to be a manifestation of the fear of the
unknown, the barrier to new experience. It is not till Truman manages to cross the
sea unaided – the first attempt with Meryl's help was foiled – that he is able to
escape his prison.
the yacht
the symbol of freedom and Truman's urge to explore; it has the same name – Santa
Maria – as one of Christopher Columbus's ships when he set off to discover the new
world.
the wall of the dome
Literally the edge of his known world, it is the physical limitation he must find a way
through. It provides a vivid metaphor for the fakery of Seahaven – it looks like the
sky but is a plaster wall.
On an allegorical level, it represents the barriers anyone faces in pursuit of selfactualisation.
The boat that represents Truman's freedom is juxtaposed with the wall that limits it:
a powerful image. When the bowsprit of the yacht pierces the fragile shell of
Truman’s artificial world, Truman literally touches the limits of his universe. The
illusion of what until that moment constituted his world is shattered.
• the library
• symbol of the knowledge of good and evil – Truman falls in
love in a library. (It is the only place in Seahaven where
there seem to be any books; knowledge and enquiry are not
encouraged in this place.
• the falling light
• a visual pun as well as a metaphor for enlightenment; it is
after the light falls, that Truman 'sees the light'
• the revolving door
• an important metaphor for indicating the change of
direction Truman makes; when he chooses to go out the
door again, he breaks with his conventional and routine life
and begins the journey to the truth
• the false elevator
• a metaphor for the world of Seahaven – all surface, no
reality. Look behind the façade and find – actors.
• the trunk of memorabilia
• Truman keeps it locked; it is full of his memories and secrets.
It is his mind, his one vestige of privacy; the lock is a
metaphor for the way he keeps his real self secret. "You
never had a camera in my head," he tells Christof.
• the photo album
• if his trunk is a metaphor for Truman's private thoughts and
memories – his genuine life – the album is one for his public
and false life
• the unfinished bridge
• bridges are traditionally metaphors for connections and
connectedness. Since there is no honest connection in
Seahaven, it is appropriate that Truman and Marlon meet on
the unfinished bridge.
• staircase
• 'stairway to heaven' – he walks up it among the 'clouds'.
• the door in the wall
• the entrance to the unknown – literally black beyond it (it is
night time). Truman steps into the completely unknown.
• job in insurance
• a metaphor for the cocoon of safety Truman – and many
people – are wrapped in
• the stripes Truman wears
• metaphors for the prison he is in; Sylvia wears them in
sympathy
• the actors in 'The Truman Show'
• No cast member ever shows genuine affection for Truman,
but they do show selfish emotions. They represent the
unfortunate truth that all too often people, even in
enormous numbers, can be complicit or active in acts of
grave inhumanity.
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audience members
a few represent the millions who watch
the Meryl doll
points out that Meryl herself is like a doll – empty,
heartless, soulless
"Good afternoon…"
a metaphor for the routine that is Truman's life
"Cue the sun"
demonstrates chillingly just how much power and
control Christof has over Seahaven; it depicts
suburbia not only as an artificial reconstruction of
small-town America but also, more tellingly, as a
landscape of imprisonment and control.