M16 Symbol Analysis

Guns, particularly Cassie’s M16 rifle, represent both the need for self-defense but also the dangers of not trusting other people. Cassie receives her M16 from her dad, who is a kind and optimistic man who isn’t naturally drawn to violence. The fact that he’s the one to give Cassie the rifle suggests that sometimes even the most peaceful people may need to resort to violence to protect themselves and the ones they love. Cassie learns the dangers of post-apocalyptic life firsthand when she witnesses Branch shoot Crisco in the head, and when Cassie shoots Branch with her pistol, it represents her first step toward accepting the violence of the world she lives in. An M16 is an even deadlier weapon than a pistol, and so Cassie’s decision to carry it around reflects her developing belief that the world is a violent place and she can’t trust others.

But while Cassie’s M16 rifle helps protect her, it also becomes a burden on her conscience after she uses it to kill the Crucifix Soldier, a young man who looked dangerous but turned out to be innocent. For a long time, Cassie feels that she can’t trust anyone she meets, and the powerful weapon that she carries causes people to distrust her in turn. However, she begins to trust Evan, who rescues her—but who seemingly hides her M16 away from her. Being away from her weapon and the power it represents makes Cassie feel uncomfortably vulnerable. By the end of the novel, Cassie has begun to find more of a balance, learning that while her rifle has a place in her fight against the aliens, there are also times when it’s better not to shoot (like when she runs into a strange doctor at Camp Haven and learns that he’s actually her old crush Ben). Cassie’s M16 represents the difficult moral questions that people face in a post-apocalyptic world, where violence may sometimes be necessary but where this violence also leads to widespread distrust that’s capable of tearing society apart.