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58 pages 1 hour read

S. A. Cosby

Blacktop Wasteland

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2020

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Symbols & Motifs

Vehicles

Cosby imbues Blacktop Wasteland with not only realism but also metaphors that express underlying truths. One pervasive metaphor is the novel’s motor vehicles, which signify something about the characters and plot events. For instance, the opening chapter describes a number of would-be drag racers gathering in an isolated location with their rebuilt muscle cars, all of which have long been out of production. It is this location that Cosby calls a “blacktop wasteland.” Like the cars and drivers gathered there, it retains the merest vestiges of its former glory. Indeed, it is in hopes of reclaiming his past glory that Bug is drawn to this locale.

The characters also drive vehicles that express what sort of person they are. Kia drives an unassuming Honda, pairing perfectly with her reliable, enduring personality. Lazy rides in an ominous black Cadillac—fearsome, mysterious, and imposing. Kelvin drives an old-school Nova—quick, stylish, and appealing to women. Bug has two vehicles. When he drives his truck, he is the honorable, unassuming mechanic. When he drives his hot rod Duster, he becomes an entirely different person.

Bug also has the ability to transform vehicles so they imply one thing while secretly having a different meaning. He does this with the bobtail truck when concealing the stolen van full of platinum; he uses a decoy horse trailer and a decoy van to convince guards that the contraband has been removed when it is actually riding down the highway ahead of them. His mother knows his ability well, saying she recognized his handiwork when she heard that a nondescript Buick Regal eluded two police cruisers.

Proverbial Wisdom

Different characters voice unique, poignant sayings. These proverbs may be spontaneous insights that occurred to the author, or they may be expressions of wisdom that have circulated in the Virginia culture that Cosby depicts. While these proverbs sometimes offer profound insight, others may seem counterintuitive. It may be helpful to remember that, just as the dialect in the narrative reflects the tonality and expressions of rural southeastern Virginia, so the proverbs are regional.

For instance, when Bug sees another driver latch his seat belt, he remembers, “His father used to say if they ever wrecked the only thing seatbelts would do was make it harder for the undertaker to get them out of the car” (5). On another occasion, Reggie confronts his brother Ronnie with the fact that they will never escape their social strata no matter how much money they acquire. This silences Ronnie: “The truth had a strange way of ending an argument” (235). When Bug chases Ronnie through a cornfield at night with a wrecker, Bug observes, “Terror had a way of making smart men stupid” (262).

Water Imagery

While Cosby makes scant reference to the Chesapeake Bay or Atlantic Ocean that are near the geographical area he is writing about, he does use the motif of water imagery. The author primarily uses the image of overcast skies or rain showers as foreshadowing, an omen of some misfortune. For instance, the sky is overcast on the day of the jewelry store robbery, which goes badly and sets the stage for coming mayhem and death. The day Ronnie distributes the shares of money from the diamond heist is also overcast—and, as Jenny gets her share, it begins to rain. Her understanding—that the rain implies cleansing and a new beginning—is ironic, since the rain really implies her doom.

Cosby does use water as an image of renewal and cleansing. After his violent night at the drag races, Bug cleanses himself in a shower and emerges feeling renewed and ready to find a new way to financially support his family. Again, when he realizes mobsters have closed in on him, Bug washes his face in the men’s room of Danny’s tavern, emerging refreshed and ready to confront the mobsters. 

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