Zach's Lie

To help transform them from the Osbornes into the Grangers, Jack, Joanne, and Mary change their eye color by using blue contact lenses. Jack becomes Zach, “a blue-eyed boy” (48). To Zach, his blue eyes symbolize the lie his life has become. Zach calls them “blue lies” (95) when Catalin compliments them, knowing that what she likes about him is fake. Peter uses Zach’s eyes as a barb when he asks, “Does Catalin know your eyes aren’t really blue?” (168). Peter both shows Zach that he knows the truth about him and makes Zach feel bad about lying to his girlfriend. Zach’s eyes epitomize the struggle he faces to adopt and accept a new identity while still maintaining his core self.

Notably, Sam also has blue eyes; “the most startling blue eyes Zach had ever seen” (69). Whether Sam’s eyes are part of his disguise after defecting from the KGB or not, they give him a connection to Zach: both are in hiding to protect their lives. Sam recognizes that Zach’s blue eye color is false and uses this knowledge to encourage Zach to trust him. Finally, when Neil rejoins the family as Robert Greene, Smith describes his “tired blue eyes” (211).