Symbolism in Bruiser by Neal Shusterman

In the book Bruiser by Neal Shusterman a very prominent theme is seeing life with “blinders” on or seeing life with these “blinders off.  Horses have these blinders to keep them from seeing everything. On people these blinders are nonexistent, but in ways they are much more powerful than the blinders on a common horse. As Brontë, one of the main characters explains, “Most of the time we don’t even know they’re there. Maybe we need them though, though, because if we took in everything at once we’d lose our minds.” Brontë is trying so hard to keep her blinders on and shutting her eyes away from the horrific truth, whereas Brewster (another main character) has seen the world for what it truly is. This theme kept on popping up discreetly over and over again in Brontë’s and Brewster’s actions and thoughts. So I think that the theme of living life with the blinders on versus off is very important in the book Bruiser by Neal Shusterman.

A way that this theme shows is through one of the characters, Brontë. Brontë tries so hard to keep her blinders on and in doing so she completely denies all her problems. “‘No! They’re not getting divorced! They worked things out! They’re happy!’” The “they” that she is talking about is her parents, and they are on the verge of divorce and her mother is already seeing another man. Also, Brontë never fully realizes the consequences of her actions. For example,  Brontë will introduce Brewster to all her friends and he will begin to care about them, causing him agony because he takes other people’s emotional and physical pain away from the people he cares about. So you can see two ways of how the theme of having the blinders on versus off is shown in Brontë because she is trying so desperately to keep her blinders on and seeing reality.

            A different side of the blinders theme is shown in Brewster whose blinders are fully off. He sees the world in an entirely realistic perspective and he realizes reality while others, like Brontë, refuse to accept it. “… Who have devolved into Play-Doh pumped through sleazy suburban press, stamped into identical molds, all bearing chunks of bleak ice, comet-cold in their chests.” He sees straight through all the heartless people while other people will worship them as if they were magical, filled to the brim with mystical powers of only good. The theme of the blinders is also shown in another way through Brewster.

              In conclusion, the theme of living life with these protective blinders on and on was a reoccurring theme in the book Bruiser by Neal Shusterman. As Brontë will state, “Can you imagine how terrifying it must be to suddenly realize that everything you believe about the universe was wrong? Most people don’t realize how terrifying that is until their world is the one being threatened.” Brontë clutches her “blinders” tight to her face whereas Brew’s blinders are off and he sees straight through every phony thing. So I believe that the theme of having blinders on versus off was a very prominent theme in the book Bruiser by Neal Shusterman.