48 pages • 1 hour read
Andrew Joseph WhiteHell Followed With Us
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2022A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Dystopia
Content Warning: This section contains descriptions of gore, violence, anti-trans bias, religious trauma, escape from a cult, and death.
Dystopia is a prominent motif and the foundation of the story’s setting, as it takes place several decades in the future after climate change has ransacked the world. The Angels have taken it upon themselves to solve this issue by killing off humanity. Using a manufactured virus, they spread the infection across the world to remove everything that was seen as superfluous. Benji sees beauty in this dystopian world, despite its horror, violence, and desolation, and often comments on how beautiful the city is: “[N]ature creeps back between cracks in the road and up the sides of buildings” (83). New Nazareth itself exists on the lands of an old university, and Benji muses on the experience of having access to things and places that people never did before. There is a certain freedom to the dystopia because there are no official laws or systems. At the same time, people like Benji and Nick are forced to grow up before their time, take on immense responsibility, and constantly fear for their own safety. The thought of death is always looming overhead, and grief for lost friends is constant. The Angels’ decision to cull the earth represents their shared delusion that life is less important than what they assume comes after; their total disregard for people who do not share this vision showcases How One’s View of Death Affects One’s Life.
Gore
Gore is a central motif in Hell Followed With Us, used to emphasize the horror of Benji’s life, the dystopian world, and the religious cultism that caused it, as well as supporting the theme of What Makes a Monster. From the opening scene, Benji is surrounded by bodies, many of which are still partially alive, as he tries to escape New Nazareth: “Corpses dangle from the wires, yellow-pink organs hanging from their stomachs to obscure their nakedness” (4). He is constantly reminded of their actions against the world, and everything around him is in despair. Benji tries to ignore the death around him as much as possible, but as he starts to transform into Seraph and his own body starts to die, he cannot escape it anymore. Benji constantly throws up his organs and tears pieces of his own flesh off as it rots and hangs from his body. Despite this, Benji attempts to adhere to his own moral standards and not become the monster that the Angels hope he will. Along with Benji’s own personal horror, there are also Graces made of human corpses and a nest of the Flood virus that lives at the church. Benji sees himself in these creatures and is the only person to empathize with them. In the story’s climax, a massive and violent battle takes place, and death surrounds Benji at every turn; at this stage, however, he is less affected by gore and feels a sense of pity rather than disgust when he sees it. White’s decision to lean heavily on shock and horror illuminates the extent to which religious zealots will go in order to fulfill what they see as God’s plan.
The Trans Bead Lizard
The trans bead lizard is an important symbol of Finding Home and Finding Family. Nick is on the autism spectrum and uses bead lizards as a stimming object. They help keep him calm and focused and channel his emotions in a neutral way. Nick rarely shares pieces of himself with others but shares his bead lizards with Benji in an attempt to demonstrate his guilt and desire to have Benji as a friend. Ironically, Nick was unaccepting of Benji at first, which opposes the values that the ALC tries to uphold. When Nick gives Benji the trans lizard, it shows that he understands and accepts Benji’s identity and views him as a person. Benji accepts the lizard and then sends it back to Nick from New Nazareth in the mouth of a Grace. Doing so alerts Nick to return with the Watch and attack New Nazareth, finally freeing Benji from their grasp. Unlike the people of New Nazareth, Nick and the rest of the Watch use Benji’s chosen pronouns, view him as a boy, and see him as a human being even as he becomes Seraph.
