Motifs in the Weight of All Things

In the novel The Weight of All Things, Sandra Benitez portrays many motifs that add to the strong feelings throughout the novel, such as the lamb & the lion, the Virgin and also through the representation of water. All of these motifs help one to truly understand the overall themes in the book and feel for the main character, Nicolas Veras throughout all of his misadventures. The author, Sandra Benitez, writes in a way that hides deep meanings behind each motif to collaborate together and create a overall feeling of the novel which is moving, touching and makes one think about the meaning of life. The Weight of All Things is morphed into the touching novel that it is through the motifs of the lion and the lamb which gave him courage, bravery and warmth, the Virgin, who guided him and through water which cleansed him.
    The lion and the lamb were essential to Nicolas while he was on his adventures through El Salvador because they made him stronger and gave him the tools he needed to battle through everything without letting it phase him. The lion gave Nico courage, strength and bravery to overcome everything that could possibly come in his way; the lamb gave him a warm heart for when he needed it. While Nico was trapped in the army garrison, Nico knew that he had to escape, no matter what, and he was sure that the courage that the lion had given him would do just that as proved in the quote, “He would escape from here as soon as he could. How he would accomplish this, he did not know. Of one thing he was certain: he was capable of whatever it took to do it. He was a lion, was he not?” (144-145). The significance of the lion giving Nico the courage to do anything and everything that he could to escape the terrifying fate that could have been foreseen, as long as Nico was, not only trapped at the garrison but also when the Guerillas take over his and Tata's rancho and at the final scene of the book, when the armys get into a battle over the lake, right in front of...