The Strangers

The world of The Strangers is full of secrets. Kate withholds many truths from her children as they grow up, including: their true identity and place of birth; the cause of their father’s death; her destination when she claims she’s leaving on a business trip; and her connection to the Gustanos. She hopes those secrets will protect the kids until it becomes necessary to reveal them. Mysteries often hinge on withholding information, slowly revealing it as the plot unspools, and Chess, Emma, and Finn are left in the dark throughout much of the novel. They uncover the truth only by cleverly deciphering their mother’s coded letter. Codes are a tried-and-true method of keeping secrets, particularly military ones. Julius Caesar used secret codes to communicate with his field generals. Alan Turing, the pioneering computer scientist, deciphered the Nazi code Enigma during World War II, allowing the Allied forces to elude Nazi U-boats and deceive them with false messages. In a world of authoritarian repression like The Strangers, secrets are vital for any insurgent movement, and codes allow for safe transmission of information. Whoever holds the secret, holds the power, and for Kate, her secrets are the only power she has against the repressive machinery of the government. Keeping the truth hidden is a matter of life and death for her, her children, and the Gustanos.