Throughout the novel, the pines that comprise the deep, dark forest surrounding Wayward Pines symbolize escape and safety to Ethan—escape from the world of Wayward Pines, which he doesn’t understand, and safety from the sheriff and others in the town who seem determined to imprison him. When Ethan finally does escape, the trees offer refuge, as Ethan knows he has “some protection under the canopies of these ancient pines” (201). Beyond refuge, the trees also offer a marked contrast to Wayward Pines’s man-made perfection: “He passed into a grove of soaring pines. The rocky ground gave way to soft, moist earth covered in a cushion of dead pine needles” (201). In addition, by situating Wayward Pines amid the pine forest, Blake Crouch evokes a similar sense of isolation and mystery as that evoked in the television show Twin Peaks, in which a small town with dark secrets is also set amid pine forests that create a supernatural atmosphere.

After Ethan learns the truth about Wayward Pines, as well as the world that surrounds it, there is an ironic shift in the symbolism of the pine trees. On realizing that the town is a sanctuary, not a prison, Ethan’s

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