The Hypnotists

“He labored to get his breathing under control. ‘How weird was that?’”

This quote highlights the extreme and illogical nature of Jax’s powers. The hypnotic experience has physical consequences for Jax as he feels fearful and tries to regain control over his body. His ordinary language emphasizes his current inability to comprehend his abilities, as he desires to maintain a semblance of normalcy and connection with his friend.

“Miss, miss, miss!”

This line represents the way Jax’s accidental hypnotic suggestions work before he understands his powers. The command for a sports opponent to miss seems like an ordinary example of the kind of language sports participants and spectators use to signify their hopes for a play or a game. Jax does not believe that saying these words will cause Rodney to miss. However, when he repeats them emphatically, it ironically invokes his power.

“It was the doctor. He went ape on me! I didn’t do anything! Honest!”

This quote establishes the idea of control and accountability as Jax tries to claim that he was not responsible for hypnotizing the eye doctor. This line invites inquiry into who is responsible in this situation, as Jax did not intend to hypnotize the doctor, yet he made the command and used his power. By saying “honest,” Jax introduces the idea that honesty and trust are a challenge whenever hypnosis comes into play.

“If you choose to see yourself from the perspective of another, this may indicate that you are unsure of who you are.”

This line comes from a meeting with a psychiatrist who attempts to metaphorize Jax’s visions. While Jax resists this metaphor because it fails to describe the physical reality of his hypnotic experiences, the metaphor applies to his broader experience in the novel, as he sees himself through Mako’s then Braintree’s eyes and must figure out who he wants to be.

“Something just happened. I’ve never felt the power stronger.”

This quote comes from a moment when perspective shifts away from Jax, providing information about something Jax himself doesn’t know. Ramolo reports on Jax’s extraordinary power, building suspense about whatever larger supernatural world Jax will soon enter and hinting at his role as a chosen one. The purposeful obscurity of the language helps contribute to the mystery and suspense leading into the next chapter.

“It was like trying to focus on a birthday candle next to the sun.”

This simile describes the way Ms. Samuels’s beauty overpowers everyone else around her, using the metaphor of fire and light to connote desire and visibility, It also emphasizes the indirect influence that beauty exerts on everyone in the room.

“What we do here at Sentia…is hypnotism.”

After a long period of mystery and purposeful obfuscation, this matter-of-fact line is the first time that Dr. Mako directly and bluntly expresses the purpose of Sentia and the nature of Jax’s powers. Naming Jax’s power is a turning point for him, allowing him to place his experiences in context and begin to assert control over his abilities.

“It’s about free will, and never knowing if you really have it.”

Jax’s father articulates one of the difficulties of engaging with hypnotists in his family and the way their powers erode trust. The construction of this line mirrors that fear of lost autonomy, deemphasizing Ashton’s subjectivity and locating him as the object of the sentence as though he is not in control of his statement.

“Amid the thrill of success, something didn’t sit well. This panhandler was still in his power.”

This quote emphasizes the inner conflict that Jax experiences as he gets deeper and deeper into his studies. The line contrasts the thrill of success with the unease of moral overstepping, highlighting the guilt within the excitement. Jax immediately connects power with this negative feeling of guilt and unease, indicating his moral character and resistance to the temptations of power.

“A simple instruction is not as powerful as a feeling, like fire on your skin.”

This simile shows the relationship between language and hypnosis. Language that is direct and instructional lacks the emotional power and tactile capabilities of a simile that carries connotations of danger and pain of hypnosis.

“You are in control, but also vulnerable.”

This line is a paradox, indicating the way hypnotic control is less secure than it seems, as it opens the hypnotist up to unintended emotional blowback. This quote also reveals a deeper truth about Dr. Mako, showing how he views empathy as a kind of vulnerability.

“How messed up was that? His own father wouldn’t look at him.”

This line references the impact Jax’s hypnotic abilities have on his relationship with his dad and emphasizes the way eye contact facilitates a basic level of connection and mutual trust. Even as Jax feels guilty and uncomfortable with his father’s inability to trust him, he respects his father’s autonomy and does not even consider using his powers, preferring to maintain as much genuine connection as he can.

“You want a free ride? You think it’s really free?”

This quote comes from an anecdote Braintree shares that helped him make a moral choice about his powers. The double rhetorical question encourages Axel and by extension, Jax, to come to their conclusions about what is lost or stolen when they use their powers on others. The question encourages them to think empathetically and see each action from other perspectives, questioning their motivations.

“It was a major discovery! He had to tell Dr. Mako!”

This line shows how Dr. Mako successfully exerted social influence on Jax and is in his head. Jax’s excitement about the discovery as communicated through the exclamation points reveals how Jax feels compelled to impress Dr. Mako and continue earning his approval and favor, despite the threat he poses.

“But the emotion that came with it was brand-new and shocking in its intensity. Hatred.”

This quote shows the darkness that comes with experiencing the hypnotic blowback. The surreal experience of feeling someone else’s hatred is compounded when Jax realizes he is feeling Wilson’s hatred directed at him.

“But they could have made him do anything—jump off a building or stick his head in the furnace or chug-a-lug Drano. It’s too much power.”

This line offers an outside perspective on hypnotism as Tommy witnesses Wilson and DeRon abuse their power. Tommy uses humor even as he analyzes the seriousness of what he just saw. He then draws the same conclusion that Braintree and the other sandmen drew about the power. Tommy situates himself as a grounding influence for Jax who can help him see his power as a danger and temptation in direct conflict with Mako’s worldview.

“You want to tell on me to Mako? Be my guest. Who do you think sent us out there to get those files?”

This quote causes a sharp shift in Jax’s view of Mako and the Sentia Institute. Wilson’s mocking tone emphasizes how little Jax knows about Sentia and his naïveté to accept Mako as a moral and educational authority.

“Dr. Elias Mako has devoted his life to New York City education and is an inspiration to every single one of us.”

Tommy speaks this line, which many other characters have repeated word-for-word to Jax at the mention of Dr. Mako’s name. Jax understands it as a post-hypnotic suggestion that has successfully exerted both direct and indirect control on others. The suggestion forces them to say this line and further builds Mako’s positive reputation. The line takes an eerie tone when Tommy speaks it because he knows the truth about Mako and would not agree with the sentiment. It also escalates the danger as Jax comes to understand how Mako has influenced many of his loved ones.

“You will record another clip—it will be revealed over the internet via a computer virus that will self-erase as soon as it’s been viewed. In it, you will implant a post-hypnotic suggestion for the viewer to vote for Senator Douglas in the New York primary.”

Mako speaks this line as though he is hypnotizing Jax, using the second-person address and commanding language. Mako is not, however, hypnotizing Jax. He has used the threat against his parents to all but guarantee his compliance. Using this language emphasizes how the indirect control of a threat functions no differently from a direct case of hypnosis.

“I just hypnotized my own father.”

Jax thinks these words to himself, using a tone of disbelief and horror to acknowledge how he has perpetrated an act against his father that his father fears. In his mind, he views himself as if from another perspective, emphasizing his empathy and ability to understand how others feel.

“Most sandmen your age would be mesmerizing teachers and prom dates or getting into movies without paying. But you honestly have no interest in personal gain. Your talent is unequaled, and so are you.”

Axel Braintree delivers this line to Jax, signifying that he has completed his moral arc and withstood the temptation to use his powers for selfish reasons. Axel delivers this line in an observatory way, understanding Jax’s inner life and motivation, showing how Axel is an empathetic hypnotist and an encouraging mentor for Jax.

“Unfortunately, I’ve decided to drop out of the race.”

This moment concludes the novel’s climax, as Jax successfully thwarts Mako’s nefarious plan with an unassuming sentence. Just as Braintree encourages hypnotists to put restraints on their ambitions, Jax bends Senator Douglas into modeling that attitude in front of an audience, stopping his rise to power and thwarting Dr. Mako’s dangerous ambition.

“And then Jackson Opus stepped out into thin air.”

This quote comes from a heightened moment of danger for Jax in the novel. Korman highlights that the action is unfinished, unfurling in real-time with no clear ending. By using Jax’s full name, it establishes that Jax is not himself, mirroring the way he is acting under Dr. Mako’s hypnosis.