BioShock Infinite: the Bird or the Cage?

[Dasquian Belargic]

This is a choice that you make fairly early on in the game, when deciding which cameo necklace Elizabeth should accept as a gift. It struck me as something that although small, said a lot about your mindset when you were playing the game. I don't think it has any impact on the game, other than cosmetic, but it's interesting nonetheless.

Which did you pick, and why?

[Droo]

The bird, and I chose it immediately.

Elizabeth had spent her entirely life in a cage, the last thing I wanted to do was give her something that reminded her of that. Yes, it may remind her of Songbird, but at least he was some sort of companion to her, whereas the tower itself was a sad lonely place, and there's an argument to be made that Songbird's presense helped dispell that a little.

Yes, I thought all that instantaneously. Plus it was pretty and I wanted Elizabeth to have something pretty. Because... well... Elizabeth.

[Dasquian Belargic]

My reasons were very similar to your own, Droo - although I did hesitate.

Like you, I initially went to pick the bird, but then it made me think of the Songbird's constant presence as her guardian/captor. Also, the fact that Elizabeth didn't shy away from the cage. I forget what she says exactly, but IIRC it was something about it being somber but that it resonated with her?

[Droo]

I've been reading discussions about this part of the game. And a couple of thoughts jumped out at me:

Have you ever seen the optical illusion featuring a disc which has the image of a bird on one side and a cage on the other which, when spun, creates the illusion of a bird inside a cage? I'm familiar with it because of the film Sleepy Hollow. But I did notice when I played the game that, in the brief moment Elizabeth holds the key to escape her prison (the one which has a bird and a cage on either side), she spins it around. This is surely deliberately symbolic of the games mythology: the dimensional cross-over, the divergence of a whole into seperate parts, and the illusions of the mind.

Another point raised, which upon reflection I found I really liked, was that the game designers are actually playing with you, the gamer, in that as opposed to Bioshock, no matter the choice you make, the outcome is the same. This has been a criticism some people have put upon the game, that your choices don't alter the outcome of the story, but to reiterate: isn't that exactly the point? Whether Booker is baptised or not, he will always go on to become either the man that imprisons his daughter or the man that gives his daughter away. It's a similar kind of subtle trick to the "Would you kindly?" plot twist of its predecessor, in that the player is given the illusion of choice.

[Dasquian Belargic]

Another point raised, which upon reflection I found I really liked, was that the game designers are actually playing with you, the gamer, in that as opposed to Bioshock, no matter the choice you make, the outcome is the same. This has been a criticism some people have put upon the game, that your choices don't alter the outcome of the story, but to reiterate: isn't that exactly the point? Whether Booker is baptised or not, he will always go on to become either the man that imprisons his daughter or the man that gives his daughter away. It's a similar kind of subtle trick to the "Would you kindly?" plot twist of its predecessor, in that the player is given the illusion of choice.

I like that theory. Whatever choice you make, another version of you made the other choice anyway so whatever could happen as a result will happen / has already happened!

[Korax]

The bird,

I thought about both before picking one or the other, considering each and what they meant to me. Each choice represented good and bad things for me, the bird standing for both my desire to get Elizabeth her freedom and her protector/captor Songbird who would not let me give it to her. The cage representing the life of solitude she'd been condemned to and the desire for her protection. I chose the bird because her freedom was more important to me at that particular moment.

[Vince]

The cage. because I liked it better. Well, I had an easy time getting into Booker's head, and I was more intent on making sure I didn't miss anything on the beach, and I wanted to get out of the open to get away from Songbird.