The Eyes and the Impossible

Freya is the park’s wise, nurturing, and secretive ruler and the protagonist’s mother figure. When Johannes first sees Freya, he likens her to “a fur-covered boulder” (16), and he estimates that she is “six thousand years old” (17). The bison’s age and size make her an impressive figure as the park’s leader. However, these factors also make it difficult for her to travel, which contributes to her decision to remain on the island. As the Keepers of the Equilibrium, the bison preserve the balance between animals and humans in the park, a responsibility that requires wisdom and care. Johannes’s description of his role as the bison’s Eyes underscores their wisdom and knowledge: “I see something, I tell the Bison, they conjure a solution” (18). Of the three bison, Freya is closest to Johannes. She has “a motherly sort of voice” (16), regards the dog as her son, and comforts him after their time apart. Despite her nurturing love for Johannes, she sometimes angers him by keeping important information from him out of a desire to shield his feelings, such as the fact that the park is on an island and the truth that his father was a coyote.

Through her important position in the park and in Johannes’s life, Eggers uses Freya to develop the novel’s plot and themes. Freya tasks Johannes with the role of the Eyes that shapes his identity: “‘We would like you to be our eyes,’ Freya said” (18). This appointment sets much of the narrative’s action into motion and sets the stage for Johannes’s close friendships with the Assistant Eyes. Eggers also reflect the significance of the role Freya bestows by including it in the novel’s title, The Eyes and the Impossible. As a Keeper of the Equilibrium, Freya represents one of the novel’s central themes: the importance of beauty and balance. She also advocates for balance when she urges Johannes to moderate his fascination with the paintings: “I wouldn’t want you to be taken in by some kind of dark magic, some kind of seizing light. Remember the deer” (42). Johannes’s friendship with Freya motivates him to muster all of his friends and allies in his efforts to free her and the other bison—his primary goal for most of the story— highlighting the novel’s thematic interest in the power of friendship and cooperation. Freya nuances the novel’s understanding of The Fight for Freedom by embracing a mental and emotional freedom over escaping to the mainland and leaving her enclosure forever: “We have lived cloistered lives. Limited lives. But you have freed our eyes and our minds” (233). In the end, Freya’s refusal to leave the island helps Johannes realize that he is the one who longs for greater freedom. Johannes’s relationship with Freya and the other bison gives him a sense of purpose and belonging that gives him the courage to leave his home for a more expansive life.

The melancholy, protective, and daring Bertrand is the protagonist’s best friend. The way Johannes describes the bird makes the deep affection between them clear: He considers Bertrand “the grandest and strongest of all the gulls” with his “deep voice and barrel chest and enormous wings” (26). The gull has a penchant for staring at the sea and saying grave things. While Johannes and the other animals in the park “value this gravitas” and often come to Bertrand for counsel (27), the gull’s melancholy mood can descend to dangerous depths. For example, he nearly casts himself into the sea after his wing is injured. In addition, Bertrand is highly loyal and protective toward his friends, which he demonstrates by helping Johannes escape from Twisty and by acting as a lookout when the Control-the-Animals People come for the canine. Another trait that Johannes cherishes in his closest friend is his courage: “Bertrand was always brave and never scared, and always liked to be first in line for danger” (137). At times, the gull’s daring crosses the line into recklessness—such as his stunts on the archery field. Bertrand’s bold actions reveal his longing to perform some noble, heroic deed: “What else are we supposed to do? Eat pieces of bread and french fries all day? We need some kind of higher purpose” (120). For most of the novel, Bertrand seeks this higher purpose by protecting his best friend, but the melancholy bird later believes that the coda is his only option left to act with daring and dignity.

As the protagonist’s best friend, Bertrand figures prominently in the novel’s climax and resolution. Over the course of the story, Eggers rounds out Bertrand’s characterization by allowing Johannes to see his friend’s flaws. Although the gull is usually wise, he makes the reckless decision to fly between archers and their targets in an effort to draw Johannes’s attention away from his new friend: “I hadn’t known this, still can’t believe this, that the mighty Bertrand would have been jealous of my time with Helene” (202). Eggers notes Bertrand’s own growth in his recognition that what he did was “selfish and small” and in his realization that true courage goes beyond placing oneself in peril (202). Johannes’s efforts to save Bertrand add suspense to the novel’s climax. In the end, the injured Bertrand listens to Johannes, defies his culture’s expectations by choosing not to go through with the coda, and seeks a new way to live. Bertrand’s presence enables the protagonist to bring a significant piece of his old life with him as he seeks new adventures on the mainland. The gull sums up Johannes’s growth and the possibilities that await them both when he observes, “All this time, you thought you needed to stay in the park, but then you left. And now you’re here, and soon we’ll be somewhere else” (249). Through Bertrand, Eggers demonstrates the power of friendship and affirms the beauty of life.

The shy, sympathetic, and supportive Sonja is another of the protagonist’s friends and an important secondary character in Egger’s novel. At the start of the story, the squirrel is timid even among her closest friends, and her appearance reflects this: “When her one eye is open, the other a cinched star of fur and tissue, she looks conflicted, tense, unsure” (28). As the narrative continues, Sonja finds her confidence. For example, she boldly attacks four humans to save Johannes from Twisty and the Trouble Travelers. Sonja also shows the protagonist support and sympathy when she welcomes him into her home the night after the Parks People fill his lair with cement. Eggers demonstrates her character growth by making her the first of the Assistant Eyes to back the Bison Freedom Gambit: “‘We need to start now,’ she said. I loved her for that. Sometimes in this life so much depends on one friend simply saying, Yes, we must do this” (179). Sonja’s surprising confidence in the plan helps to stir the other animals into action. As Sonja goes from shy to self-assured, she remains constant in her sympathy and support for Johannes.

Sonja is a dynamic character who advances the themes of friendship and freedom. A shift in her physical description reflects her inner changes: “Even her busted eye looked better; it seemed to have turned itself into a handsome scar, a dignified thing” (184). Sonja’s increasing confidence serves her well in the fight for freedom. She climbs into a van full of humans to rescue Johannes, helps the canine recruit allies for the plan to free the bison, liberates the bison from their pen, and supports Johannes’s decision to seek freedom and adventure on the mainland. Ultimately, Sonja’s character growth paves the way for her to become the park’s Eyes. Sonja is the last friend Johannes sees as the ship pulls away from the island: “She was grinning, waving, crying, so many things all at once, and now she would be the Eyes. That was obvious to me and to her and would be obvious to all” (247). This passage emphasizes the friends’ closeness and Johannes’s great pride in the leader the squirrel has become. Thanks to Sonja, the protagonist is able to seek a new life on the mainland and take comfort knowing that he is leaving the park in capable hands.