Let the Right One In

“She clung to him like four hands wrapped tightly around a doll, while her jaws continued to work.” 

This scene depicts Eli killing Jocke. The juxtaposition of Eli as a frightening creature—a vampire—while simultaneously resembling a child clutching a doll renders this scene eerie and macabre because it marries innocence and experience. The divergent descriptions also hint at Eli’s dual nature: He’s both a child and a killer.

“Håkan closed his eyes, breathed slowly in and out to calm himself and stop the impulse to get up and run far, far away from…all this.” 

Håkan wishes to pledge his allegiance to Eli, though he also wants Eli sexually. He struggles with killing for Eli’s sake. Despite his devotion, he understands how horrific his situation is and still hopes at times for the police to catch him and end his suffering. Håkan therefore represents the duality of good and evil within people.

“Better to have a little shit in the corners than a clean hell.”

This passage describes Tommy cleaning his basement hideout. It is also indicative of Tommy’s behavior throughout the narrative. Tommy would rather be a menace to society than face boredom by living according to someone else’s rules.