Swing

The five love letters that Noah discovers in the secondhand handbag he purchases for his mother prove instrumental in the plot’s momentum. Although Noah has no way of knowing who the author is—beyond his first name—nor the recipient, he is moved by their contents. Their author, Corinthian, is well-spoken, elegant, and poetic in his writing. His words express his feelings for the letter’s recipient in a unique and heartfelt way. Noah is moved by them and feels that Corinthian has effectively articulated Noah’s own feelings towards Sam. Having had difficulty articulating these himself, Noah is inspired by the letters to act.

In the initial letter/artwork compilation that Noah creates, he borrows heavily from Corinthian’s letters, adopting some of Corinthian’s words as if they were his own. This indicates that Noah feels unable to express his own feelings as successfully as Corinthian does. However, Corinthian’s words spur Noah’s creative and artistic process, inspiring him to generate the artwork that accompanies the words. Over time, he grows in his own, original form of expression. Although Sam does not know who the author of the artwork is for quite some time, it is apparent to Noah that it has impacted Sam positively. The letters demonstrate The Power of Art, Words, and Music to elicit strong emotions and to build bonds. The letters are a counterpoint to the impact that jazz music has on Walt/Swing, who insists that music conveys powerful emotions that cannot be put into words.

The appearance of the American flags around town is introduced immediately in the Prologue, positioning them as highly significant and foreshadowing the novel’s final scene. The person responsible for placing the flags is unknown, as is that person’s motivation. Many citizens interpret the flags’ presence as a political statement and assume it to be a negative or critical one. The novel is set during American’s lengthy military offensive in Afghanistan, a war that proved to be unpopular with many US citizens. The experience of Mo, a young veteran of the conflict, heightens this sense of tension. The flags, which at face value symbolize the ideals historically associated with the United States—such as freedom, justice, and the pursuit of happiness—become a potential warning, either in how they are intended or how they are perceived. Walt/Swing interprets their presence as threatening, insisting that they predict societal breakdown.

It becomes apparent that the police too assume the flags to be threatening. Without any evidence, they leap to the conclusion that whoever has placed the flags has ill intentions and seeks to disrupt the social order or will cause some kind of violence in the future. In several instances, the police assume the person responsible for placing the flags to be a person of color. This racial profiling and racial bias escalates through the novel: the police outside the shop, the detention of Cruz, and, ultimately, the shooting of Walt and Mo. The police’s assumption that the flags are dangerous, and that the person who is distributing them is therefore dangerous (and non-white) is an example of the circular reasoning that often underlies prejudice. In showing the way in which these patterns of thinking can have catastrophic consequences, the flags symbolize the false assumptions that fuel racist attitudes and racial biases.

More broadly, the flags’ presence as a motif raises questions about national identity and pride in relation to marginalized racial groups. Flags are often displayed in support of the armed forces, but when the police see Mo—an actual veteran—surrounded by flags, they interpret this as an act of rebellion rather than an expression of patriotism. It is also worth noting that even if the flags are meant as a protest, freedom of speech and peaceful demonstration are mainstays of American society and can therefore be interpreted as themselves patriotic. The flags are therefore a counterpoint to the jazz motif in that the American identity they represent doesn’t seem able to accommodate people of color.