To overcome years of psychological repression requires taking on only the appearance of a reality. The truth must be proven to oneself.
“I, a stranger and afraid in a world I never made.” This quote from Alfred Housman’s poem, ‘The Laws of God, The Laws of Man”, captures the central theme of the novel. The story revolves around Jason Steer, a young man who has become disillusioned with his existence in the emotionally and physically repressive environment of Dead End. The Erudites, who control the masses and who occupy privileged dwellings in 6568, a magnificent construction of buildings, which tower above Dead End, stand in Jason’s way to self-fulfillment.
The main point of the book rests on this central idea that reality and our conception of it is both individualistic and mercurial. Jason’s emotional state is antagonistic towards that of the majority who exist in Dead End. He needs to find himself and to do that he must be aligned with the non-conformists. Furthermore, his association with this illegal group and it’s leader, Koffka, force him to confront his most profound beliefs and entangle him in a plot, where the very essence of who he believes himself to be is put to the ultimate test.