Symbolism of Murphy's manifestations in Silent Hill: Downpour

Silent Hill Downpour Manifest: Murphy Pendleton

Murphy Pendleton is the convicted protagonist for the 8th installment of Silent Hill. Murphy is a bastardization of the irish name Murdach, which means captain of waters, This fits in with the theme of water in the game. Water represents the decaying edges of Murphy’s mind as he struggles for his own perturbed idea of Justice. There are rainstorms which trigger the otherworld and monsters, this is far different than the otherworlds from other SH games. His journey is constantly interrupted by flash backs, memories and the antagonist, Sewell.

Symbolism of selected monsters from my viewpoint

A book of art found in the library, an area densely populated with Dolls, references negative space's ability to transform the inanimate (the Dolls) into the animate (their Shadows).

"Negative Space is an invaluable drawing technique that allows the brain to disconnect from the common shapes and patterns it's been trained to see, instead focusing on the space around a subject. By focusing on recreating this negative space, rather than the subject, the artist is able to create a much more accurate image. This phenomenon proves that the objects, people, and things we take for granted don't actually exist as we see them. In fact, they are merely shadows flickering through the empty canvas of the human subconscious."

Based on this information, the Dolls are most likely manifestations of Murphy's inability to cope with the loss of his son, Charlie. The Shadows deceive Murphy by distracting him from the real threat, which is the Doll herself, which resembles Priss from Bladerunner. In this case, the Doll's corporeal body represents Murphy's grief over the loss of his son, while the Shadows represent Murphy's vengeful impulses towards his son's killer, Napier. His longing for revenge distracts him from addressing his grief directly and ultimately letting go of his anger and guilt. Murphy believes that by killing Napier (the shadow) he will find peace, but instead he remains plagued by feelings of grief and responsibility afterward by failing to look inside himself to forgive (the doll). The nudity that the doll holds can also be symbolic of the sexual frustration Murphy experienced while in prison, while this is only speculation- Silent Hill Downpour lacks the sexual frustration felt by most of the other protagonists.

As such, Napier only served as the animate, external proxy for Murphy's underlying problem which was inanimate and internal the entire time. After Murphy realizes that planning to murder Napier made him just as much of a monster, he is able to forgive his son's killer and relinquish responsibility for his son's death, while at the same time accepting responsibility for the weight of his crimes. As a result of Murphy's new-found clarity, the "Doll" is destroyed and the monsters stop appearing altogether.

The physical appearance of the doll adds another layer of symbolism drawing upon imagery of the victim of a psychopath. Similar to Priss in Bladerunner, she has cropped hair and a thin stick like appearance. Her doll-like traits and non-distorted feminine features could imply that the killer treated his victims like dolls, placing an obsessive focus on beauty and sexuality. It could also be a representation of sexual repression during Murphy's time in prison. The fact that the doll has no face could mean that Murphy sees women only as objects of sexual release.

The Void may be a representation of Murphy's Thanatos. The Thanatos is a post-Freudian concept of the "death instinct" which embodies the desire to destroy oneself because it is easier to not exist than to have to struggle through life or to accept the guilt and consequences of one's actions. It may also reflect the painful outcomes of seeking revenge. A book in the Centennial Building discusses the behavior of honey bees, and how they will sting an opposing force if pushed to an extreme. It states, "When the bee attempts to flee the scene of the crime, it finds that a large part of its abdomen, guts, nerve, and muscle tissue are torn from its body and left behind. Eviscerated, the bee dies shortly after, paying the ultimate price for revenge." This is very similar to the behavior of the Void stripping the flesh off Murphy.