Many of the characters in Murder Your Employer utilize a disguise, and it becomes not only a symbol but one of the larger motifs of the text. Cliff’s original disguise is absurdly over the top and symbolizes his ineptitude when it comes to murder. That he believes it’s good helps emphasize his incompetence and feeds into the theme The Dangers of Vanity and Ego.

By the end of the novel, he utilizes the same ridiculous form of disguise but is now able to manipulate it in an alternative way that distracts the people around him and makes him intentionally memorable, thus helping to create an alibi and frame his victim. The repurposing of the disguise symbolizes his transformation from inept bumbling killer to a savvy, fully educated McMasters graduate.

Dulcie Mown/Doria Maye also uses disguise to commit her deletion, though hers is the second natured, well-done disguises of a Hollywood star accustomed to changing characters. That Gemma is the solitary student who doesn’t use a disguise is symbolic of her genuine, honest nature which makes her deletion of her extortioner impossible.