Tell No One

Sartorial disguises are key motifs in the novel because they conceal David and Elizabeth’s identities and enable them to go about their illicit activities unharmed. Elizabeth’s disguise—her nuanced wig, “blond with dark roots,” wire-rim glasses, and “implants” (207) that change the shape of her face— give her the illusion that she will be able to pass through the streets of New York City, unmet by Scope’s people. Using another disguise, the alias Lisa Sherman, Elizabeth hopes to retrieve David and pass for a completely different person when she travels with him out of the country. She does not count on the fact that David Beck, the name she uses for his ticket, will also need to be in disguise.

David’s first disguise after he has run from the police is in Tyrese’s outfit: “a pair of black jeans with a waist the approximate circumference of a truck tire,” a black White Sox baseball uniform that hangs like a dress, a black baseball cap with “some logo on it [he] didn’t recognize” (200), and sunglasses. Unlike Elizabeth, who is a “practiced” (207) hand at disguise, David feels unfamiliar and strange in his ill-fitting new uniform.