46 pages • 1 hour read
David Wilkerson, John Sherrill, Elizabeth SherrillThe Cross and the Switchblade
Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 1963A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Wheat
Content Warning: The source material contains descriptions of drug abuse and addiction, sexual and physical violence against minors, and animal cruelty. Additionally, the source material endorses dated ideas about sex workers, sexually active women, and persons with substance use disorders. The source text also shows anti-gay bias and is prejudiced against Black and Hispanic people.
In The Cross and the Switchblade, David Wilkerson’s mission to open the Teen Challenge Center is bookended by descriptions of wheat in its natural and harvested states. In these scenes, wheat emerges as a symbol of God’s active presence in Wilkerson’s work. The wheat symbol appears for the first time when Wilkerson is dissatisfied with his life in Philipsburg and wants to reconnect with the boys he met in New York the previous year. As he ruminates on this, he sees that the moon “bathe[s] the sleeping town in its cold and mysterious light […] [and] one spot in particular seem[s] illuminated” (125): a four-acre wheat field behind the church. This reminds Wilkerson of a Bible passage (John 4:35-38) in which Jesus tells his followers, “I sent you to reap a crop for which you have not toiled” (125). Wilkerson imagines “each of the blades of wheat as a youngster on the streets of the city” (125), and he then hears a clear voice telling him to leave the church in Philipsburg and travel to New York City. In this moment, Wilkerson interprets the wheat field as God’s reminder of the unfinished work he has in New York. Later, when the Teen Challenge Center is finally ready, Wilkerson feels that “the Lord had brought [him] to the harvest field” (155). He then discovers a carving of a wheat sheaf on the mantle of the Center’s fireplace and interprets this as a sign that he has completed God’s work.
Putting a Fleece Before the Lord
Wilkerson engages in a prayer practice called putting a fleece before the Lord, which “seeks to find God’s will through a sign” (14). This recurring motif is intended to show that Wilkerson is actively fulfilling God’s will. In the opening chapter, Wilkerson describes the biblical precedent for this prayer practice: “Gideon placed a lamb’s fleece on the ground and asked God to send down dew everywhere but there. In the morning, the ground was soaked with dew, but Gideon’s fleece was dry: God had granted him a sign” (14). Throughout, Wilkerson repeats this prayer practice by asking God to bring about very specific circumstances to prove that Wilkerson is following His will. In one instance, he asks God to show him that Philipsburg is the right place for him “by having the Committee vote for [him] unanimously” (14). When this comes to pass, Wilkerson believes that God is confirming that the church in Philipsburg is His plan for the Wilkerson family. In another example, Wilkerson asks God to show that they’ve chosen the right building for the Center. He addresses God, saying, “[If] You want us to have that building, You can let us know for sure by allowing us to raise that [money] in a single afternoon” (143). When the money comes through, Wilkerson sees this as evidence that he is following God’s plan. This recurring motif is designed to demonstrate Wilkerson’s active fulfillment of God’s will.
Heroin
Although Wilkerson’s primary mission in New York City is related to teenage gangs, The Cross and the Switchblade also features many instances of drug use and addiction. For Wilkerson, heroin addiction is a powerful symbol of the fierce grip that evil has on young people in New York City. His descriptions of people experiencing heroin use disorder emphasize the physical toll the drug takes on the body. For instance, when he introduces Maria, he describes her arms as being covered with “little wounds like festered mosquito bites. Some were old and blue. Some were fresh and livid” (39). Later in the book, Maria comes to the Center while using heroin, and Wilkerson says, “Maria’s eyes were glassy. Her nose ran. Her complexion was mottled and pasty” (186). These vivid descriptions of physical decline demonstrate the hazards of heroin addiction. For Wilkerson, Maria’s physical deterioration is a reflection of her spiritual state. When Maria is cured of her heroin use disorder after experiencing Redemption Through Baptism of the Holy Spirit, Wilkerson communicates this transformation by once again focusing on her appearance: She is wearing pressed clothes and is clean and tidy. For Wilkerson, heroin is a powerful symbol of the Devil’s hold on young people like Maria.
