Red and Blue Symbol Analysis

Throughout We Need to Talk About Kevin, the colors red and blue represent the difference between the imperfect reality of Eva’s life and the idealized life she longs for. Specifically, the color red represents Kevin’s anger and hostility, as well as the shame and horror Eva feels as a result. The color blue, on the other hand, represents the innocent and idealized life that Eva longs to have with her husband and daughter. Early in the novel, Eva describes the “crimson” paint that neighbors vandalize her house with. The paint is meant to guilt and humiliate Eva and remind her of Kevin’s gruesome and bloody mass murder. Eva feels ashamed of the murders because she feels partially responsible for her son’s actions, and the shocking, public nature of the vandalism makes it impossible for Eva to ignore the horrific reality of Kevin’s crime. When Kevin is born Eva feels that his “aura” is red, matching his angry and hostile personality. Later, when Kevin is a young child, he sprays red ink all over the study in their home, which devastates Eva. This event closely mirrors the neighbors vandalizing the house—in both scenes, the novel uses vivid descriptions of “crimson,” and both events bring Eva deep humiliation and outrage.

On the other hand, Eva feels that her second child, Celia, is born with a “light blue” aura. Eva even describes envisioning a “clear-skied azure” right before Celia was conceived. Celia is the opposite of Kevin in every way—she is loving, innocent, and peaceful. Celia is the child Eva hoped for when she was first pregnant with Kevin, but Celia dies very young after Kevin murders her. Celia’s death, then, reveals the unsustainability and the fantastical nature of Eva’s idealized life. Eva associates the same light blue color with her husband, Franklin. She often speaks fondly of his “baby-blue pickup,” which the couple spent a lot of time driving together before they had children. In reality, however, Eva’s marriage to Franklin is far from perfect: they clash over their opposite political views and especially over their different ideas about how to raise their son. That Eva associates Franklin with the color blue, then, reflects her tendency to focus on the marriage she longs for instead of the one she has.