Among the Impostors

The woods outside the school serve as a symbol of freedom, a promise of a better future, and a connection to Luke’s past. Through his trips to the woods, Luke develops confidence, friends, and a sense of identity. The woods provide a direct contrast to the windowless school in which the doors are always locked. While the school is like a maze, the woods are much easier for Luke to understand. He’d grown up with woods behind his house and finds being outside again a joy. While the woods offer open air, they also provide seclusion and privacy. Luke savors being “alone, not packed in and watched at every turn” (47).

Luke finds that the woods and his garden give him a sense of purpose and identity, which he can only develop outside of the daily routine of school. His discovery of the woods is the first step on Luke’s path toward liberation. His garden connects him back to his agricultural upbringing and builds his confidence. Although Luke’s garden is destroyed, his determination to find the culprit leads him to discover the group of third children that meets there at night. The woods therefore also provide Luke with opportunities for friendship. In the woods, he can be courageous and more open-minded. Luke’s comfort with the woods anchors him to his present and his past, and he is surprised to discover that many group members are scared of the outdoors. For Luke, the woods offer one of the few things about life at school that isn’t scary or intimidating.

The woods also provide a way for Luke to envision the future and develop his maturity. Luke presents the idea to Mr. Hendricks and Mr. Talbot, and he is “surprised at his own tone of authority” (172). Knowing that a food shortage led to the Population Law, the men agree to his plan, despite having a different vision for the school. The woods represent a new way of life where the boys can work together, finding confidence and building trust, while tackling one of the major societal problems. Among the Impostors ends with Luke teaching his classmates how to grow their garden. He tells them to call him “L” (56), a combination of his two identities, which have come together against the backdrop of the woods.

Jen Talbot’s memory serves as a symbol of heroism and courage, as well as a beacon of hope. Luke constantly talks with her in his mind and compares himself to her. In many ways, she is a guide for Luke, pushing him to find his confidence. Remembering Jen the day before she went to the rally, he describes her as “almost unearthly” (142). He sees her bravery as a trait he would like to emulate. Although he did not attend the rally she led for third children, where she ultimately died, he has taken on the same goal of hoping to make “a difference in the world,” and “finding some way to help other third children who had to hide” (27).

Luke feels that he struggles to live up to Jen, but the memory of her fearless attitude acts as a guide for Luke, and his behavior begins to change. He confronts the group out in the woods, and thinks it’s “something Jen would have done. Not me” (87). He thinks he’s just “plain old Luke Garner…who cowers in the attic while his best friend dies for the cause” (87). Jen’s memory inspires Luke, and the actions he takes in the woods make an enormous difference in how he handles subsequent experiences at school.

Jen’s memory provides him with a sense of hope by offering him a voice in his head that is nonjudgmental. When he is disappointed by Mr. Talbot’s note, Luke thinks Mr. Talbot is probably laughing at him, but knows Jen never would (43). On the way to confront his classmates over his garden, he asks Jen if she’d felt before the rally as he feels now: “Brave, reckless, crazy, courageous, terrified” (7). At first, Luke tells himself it isn’t fair to compare their experiences, but then realizes that “like Jen, he wanted to right a wrong” (77). Luke never stops remembering Jen, and her memory helps him find the courage to confront Jason, contact Mr. Talbot, and present his plan for the school to Mr. Hendricks.