Use Of Motifs In Maximum Ride: School's Out Forever By James Patterson

Many books can convey an underlying idea by using different means to do so. Symbolism using motifs is an example of a literary element an author could use to represent the story. In Maximum Ride: School’s Out Forever by James Patterson, wings could be used as symbolism to represent the plot of the story and hidden messages that can apply to the plot of the book as well. Firstly, the wings can be used to describe the characters’ escape from Itex. Itex was a lab the “flock” was held hostage in for years for experimentation because they are half human, half bird. The whitecoats at the facility, such as Jeb, a main antagonist in the story who is in charge of the Itexicon corporations, wanted to keep them there as much as he wanted to set them free so they could become creatures called erasers like himself. Erasers are half human, half bat, half wolf hybrids that try to prey on the “flock” which consists of the characters Max, Fang, Nudge, Iggy, Angel, and Gasman. In situations where the whitecoats and erasers came after the flock for attempting to escape, the characters’ wings came in

With their wings, Max and the whole rest of the flock could escape these types of situations without getting harmed. However, the erasers could fly too, but in the

Throughout the story, whenever Max has run-ins with danger, her “Voice” which is actually her conscience telling her what to do, tells her whether to go into fight or flight mode. Occasionally, the Voice will tell her to go into flight mode using her wings to travel clear of danger if the situation is too risky for her and the rest of her flock. Usually though, her and the flock will go into fight mode using their wings to quickly move out of harm’s way if whitecoats try to restrain Max and her kin. This is how their wings could represent all their fight or flight