The Secret Agent

Bombs are a key symbol in The Secret Agent. They are particularly important to the anarchists. The novel is based on real-life examples of anarchists using explosive devices in terrorist attacks. These attacks were predicated on propaganda of the deed, a theory that large political actions (such as bomb attacks) would inspire people to rise up. Bombs, therefore, are symbols of the potential for revolution, at least among the anarchists. The anarchists view each bomb as a potential catalyst for political change. The significance of the bomb as a symbol of political change is central to the anarchist ideas expressed in the novel, as the anarchists feel a desire to blow everything apart and rebuild a new society in its place. The destructive power of the bomb is what makes it such a potent symbol. As well as the symbolism of the bomb’s power as a spectacle, its power as a destructive device suggests the need for the old world to be blown apart for the new world to be born. The bomb is far more than a revolutionary tool for the anarchists. For the anarchists, the bomb symbolizes the revolution itself.

Vladimir tells Verloc that he must bomb the Greenwich Observatory.