When Dana first lost her arm, I quickly recognized that it would have important symbolic importance. Using loss of limb or injury in general (also exemplified by Kevin's scar) as symbolism for a painful past or loss of innocence, has been a long-running theme in literature, film, and interactive media, and I've always enjoyed the element when it is used.
The reason I enjoy the symbolic event so much is because of its effectiveness. When a character loses a limb it is an obvious visual change. They are severely hampered, and they are constantly reminded of the event that stole it from them. Films like The Empire Strikes Back understand that seeing a person lose their arm is a brutal thing to see, and so when Luke is disarmed (ha) we are just as shocked and upset as he is. From that point, Luke is no longer a pure and honest innocent, and doubt begins to fill his mind with the revelation of his father's identity.
The use of scars as symbolism has also been done effectively in series like Avatar: the Last Airbender. In that series, the character of Zuko was an optimistic and ambitious youth, but when he angers his father the young prince is severely burned, leaving a horrible scar on the side of his face. From that point on Zuko was sullen and bitter, carrying his shame in the same way he carried his scar.
In these ways, scars and losses of limb can be some of the most effective ways to demonstrate a characters hardship, and here is no different. When Dana looses her arm, it symbolizes how she has lost part of her own innocence. She has left it behind, and she can never be the same person she was before. This specific use of the symbolic element reminds me of the Coen Brothers' interpretation of True Grit, a story in which the young girl Mattie, loses her innocence (along with her arm), and becomes bitter and cold. On the whole, this is one of my favorite forms of physical symbolism.
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