| There are many symbols present in The Last Picture Show.
Sonny's football jacket: His heart. It was all he cared about getting back after his break up with Charlene. It meant alot to him, like his heart does. "He was amazed that breaking up with her had been so easy: all he felt was a strong sense of relief at having his football jacket back... He was proud of it, and glad to have it safely out of Charlene's hands." (27)
Joe Bob: Disappointment. Everyone was disappointed in Joe Bob when he allegedly raped that little girl. He was always the poster-child, but once he got in trouble, everyone lost respect for him. "Something totally unexpected happened to Jacy, and it was led up to by an event so startling that everyone in Thalia almost went mad with surprise. Joe Bob Blanton was arrested for rape!" (207).
The Picture Show: Past and memories. In the end of the book, the picture show closes down. It symbolizes the future, and the things to come. After the picture show closes down, Sonny realizes many things. "He turned around and drove back past the sign, but stopped again. From the road the town looked raw, scraped by the wind, as empty as the country. It didn't look like the town it had been when he was in high school, in the days of Sam the Lion." (277). Once the picture show was gone, Sonny realized that the town was not all that he remembered. He knew that it was time for him to leave, and move somewhere new.
Sam the Lion: Heart of the town. The glue. Holds the town together. Sam the Lion is the fatherly figure for Duane and Sonny. They grew up not having one, and Sam is the closest thing they have to a father. He keeps the boy in line, keeps them out of trouble. Once he dies, the boys do not know what to do. They instantly miss him terribly, and the town slowly falls apart. It gets dirty, rugged, and the picture show closes down. Without him there, the town is not the same. "He had not thought of Sam the Lion much since the funeral-in Thalia it was no good thinking about him-but for some reason the bitter flats of the Pecos brought him to mind and Sonny remembered the way he used to slop aroundthe poolhall in his house shoes, complaining about the ingrown toenail that had pained him for years." (180). Once Sam died, Sonny realized how much he missed him and how much he had done for him.
Genevieve: Love. Mom. Family. She is everything to Sonny- she keeps his family, or all that is left of it together but not together. She is always at the diner when the boys need someone to talk to, and when they run low on money, she is always first to donate. She loves the boys of Thalia like they were her own, and she is their motherly figure, for they grew up not having one. "She went in the cafe and got a ten dollar bill out of her purse. Afer she had wiped her eyes with a Kleenex she took the money outside and handed it to Sonny." (164).
Thalia: Haven. Home. Comfort. Shelter. The boys have resided in Thalia all of their lives, and do not know anything outside of it. So when Duane and Sonny leave Thalia to go take a trip to Mexico, everything goes wrong. They spend all of their money on prostitutes, on pornographic movies, and alcohol. Outside of Thalia, it is an unknown world, and the boys do not know how to deal with it. Within their haven they are safe, but when they leave, they are succeptable to wrongness.
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