The Symbolism of Saw I - The Jigsaw Piece

The cut jigsaw piece taken from each game's "loser" is like a brand, tattoo, or a scarlet letter. It marks those who fail to give the appropriate sacrifice and are missing, in Jigsaw's mind, the will and desire to live. It is a way to make internal flaws visible on the outside.

The Symbolism of Saw I - Opposition

Pitting Adam against Dr Gordon is a sort of reenactment of the battle between age and experience and light against dark. Not only is it mirrored in their ages, education, and life experience, but also in their appearances, one has dark brown hair and eyes, the other light blond hair and blue eyes.

In Pagan mythology, two characters, the Oak King and the Holly King are also at odds. The Oak King rules over the light half of the year, when days grow longer. It is the period of the Winter to the Summer Solstice. He would most align in theory and appearance with Dr. Gordon. The Holly King rules over the dark half of the year, when the days grow shorter, during the period of the Summer to Winter Solstice. He would be more like Adam. The Oak and Holly Kings are not enemies, but rather opposing and necessary forces. They balance each other out.

The Symbolism of Saw I - Birth

I find that the similarities of the opening scene of Saw I and the realities of birth are striking. Adam wakes up in a tub of water and steps into darkness, like a baby moving from the mother and through the birth canal into life. He is overcome by confusion. He cries out for help, as a baby cries out for air. A baby's senses go through an adjustment period. Likewise, Adam can't see anything yet, but can hear Dr. Gordon speaking, answering his questions. He uses a quiet and almost muffled tone, making him difficult to hear. Then, Dr Gordon finds the light switch. The room and it's inhabitants are suddenly forced into the light and everyone can see. The "game" can begin. This is like when the baby's senses are fully working and the infant is now alert and alive. Also, while Dr. Gordon is a medical oncologist, it is ironic that a doctor should be present at the "birth."

The Symbolism of Saw I - The Clock

The only thing clean and new in the bathroom of Saw I is a clock high on the wall. The fact that the clock is new and clean highlights the lack of power that we have over it. We have no control over it at all. We can change way we count and measure time ot the words used to describe it. But time will continue on, indifferent.

Also, many parts of the story are told in flashbacks. There are flashbacks to Jigsaw's original traps - Mark, Paul, and Amanda. A flashback explains how Lawrence was implicated in the murders and how he and Adam were kidnapped. Also, there's another one for what happened when Tapp and Sing meet Jigsaw. This is done deliberatly in order to manipulate point of view of the viewer and the people in the traps. Certain details of the story are revealed only when necessary and others are hidden until the very end.

Time factors in most of Jigsaw's games and this game is no different. The players are given very little time to react to their situations, most likely to force them into making choices. By shocking their consciousness, they are forced to make brutal sacrifices in the blink of an eye or else pay the ultimate price, death.

The Symbolism of Saw I - The Bathroom

In Saw I, the main "players", Adam and Lawrence, are chained to pipes on opposite walls, with no apparent way to get free in a grimy, dirty bathroom.

Bathrooms are places where we get release and rid of things, like dirt and human waste. This a clue that in order to survive, the characters will have to let something go - a sacrifice is going to be necessary to live. While most bathrooms are clean, but this one is not. So, it signals a perversion/negation of that the meaning. So, we know the sacrifice is going to be a terrible one full of anguish and violence. It's going to be a painful process.

Also, bathrooms are symbols of purification, cleansing, truth, and honesty. When we release lies, we can cleanse and purify our minds, hearts, and souls. The truth is known. During the plot of Saw I, the lies told through out the movie are exposed. In the beginning Dr. Gordon lies that he was working at the hospital the night he was taken. As the story goes on, it's is revealed that he was actually at a hotel, cheating on his wife. He also confesses that while he was going to meet a women; he did not do anything with her and regretting what he was doing. Adam attempts lie as well. He lies about how he knew to turn off the lights and find the "x". When the truth is revealed it starts Dr. Gordon's breakdown.