In the book, he sought to illustrate an immigrant's life in a way that is both fantastic and strange, so that it closely replicates what life must have been like for someone coming to a new country.
Monsters with tentacles, and giants who vacuum up men are all symbolic of the many reasons why immigrants came to this new country. Censorship and the wars of despotism are also included....all in a fanciful books filled with different images based somewhat on the iconic immigration photos of the late 1800's.
