While doing a close reading of Batman: the Dark Knight Returns, I learned that the line between good and evil can have it's grays. Frank Miller uses many writing and coloring schemes to show that our crime fighting hero Batman has some vices of his own. But these vices are what drive him; it's what makes him hunger for the death and blood for criminals like a wild animal. And threw strong metaphors like this I think Frank Miller wants the reader to learn that what is good and pure isn't always pretty and sweet.
             The use of dark and bright colors threw the story are really opposite from their given meaning in today's society. The wickedness and sin is usually depicted threw bright reds and yellows, while the good qualities of Batman are colored by cool blues, grays and blacks. I think this leads along with Miller's point that goodness in the world doesn't always have to fit the perfect standard that society has set. But on the other side of that, evil doesn't always have to have a ugly, grim appearance. Threw Harvey Dent's plastic surgery he obtains a baby face with a great smile. Then he gives a statement to the media making sure to show off his new smile and the whole city wanted to forgive him, completely rejecting whatever the aged, coarsed faced Commissioner Gordon had to say against Dent.
             Metaphors are all threw the story, but there are a couple main ones that are important. The first was the coalition between the heat wave and crime through the city. Like the mercury in the thermometer, the amount of crime in the streets seems to rise with every passing day. And all at the same time the animal spirit in batman and the rain clouds of God break loose to cool the temperature through out the city.
             And while God deals with the scorching temperature, Batman acts as his companion, or son, to vanquish the sins of the world. There few more allusions to the bible in the story, like the rain...