Leviathan refers to the State (as defined by Hobbes) and its symbol in the USA, the Statue of Liberty, but also to the Biblical monster that swallowed Jonah. The body of the State is made up of all the bodies of the citizens and the social contract was originally designed to protect them. Auster 's novel stresses that the contract has been broken and the symbol emptied of its meaning, justifying therefore an aesthetic form of terrorism based on Thoreau's Civil Disobedience : the Liberties must be destroyed to restore Liberty. The bomb at the core of the novel pervades its theme, vocabulary and metaphors. However, the explosive message o/Leviathan is to be put into perspective since the text proves to be a destabilizing network of secrets, lies, contradictions and errors.