The Hypnotists

Content Warning: This section of the guide refers to suicide.

Jax's eyes serve as a symbol throughout the novel, representing his connection to his powers, his identity, and his relationships with others. The eyes are a portal into another person’s inner life, offering both their perceptual window out into the world and expressing details about their state of mind to others. Jax’s supernatural eyes allow him to take the metaphor of looking into someone’s eyes to a more literal place, as he looks into and controls others’ minds. When Jax uses his powers, he has a vision of himself, as if seeing himself through the other person’s eyes. This signifies the way he will absorb some of that other person’s perspective as he hypnotizes them. This image parallels Jax’s internal conflict over the nature of his powers and the ethics of using them.

Jax’s eyes also represent a kind of vulnerability. As the colors change, Jax’s emotional state becomes visible, with dark blue representing tumult and purple representing the hypnotic, influential state. This gives others key clues about his feelings. Locating Jax’s power in an inherited trait emphasizes how Jax does not fully control his abilities or his