Nuclear Waste Imagery
This book is about the problem of the Yucca Mountain project, which purports to deposit large amounts of highly radioactive nuclear waste into the Yucca Mountain. This plan is an unsafe one considering the proximity of Las Vegas and the dubious nature of the mountain's ability to contain the waste without leaking it into the environment. Accordingly, much of the book's imagery centers around nuclear waste, including one particularly vivid paragraph in which the author describes the effects the waste has on the surrounding wildlife, making the fish in a nearby lake mutated and deformed.
Sin City Imagery
Las Vegas is often called "Sin City," and the author does not shy away from the seedier parts of the city in his book. He references the many strip clubs and casinos in the area, as well as referencing the city's temporary ban on lap dancing and the nickname of a particular neighborhood ("Naked City"). He also describes instances where crude and profane graffiti adorns broken neon signs, and women in bikinis stand around and hire themselves out to boost the atmosphere of social events.
Politics Imagery
The manipulative, deceptive side of politics is on full display in this narrative work, which includes the story of Harry Reid, a senator from Nevada whose perspective on the Yucca Mountain issue changes with the cash flow. The imagery of him standing in front of the Senate, fighting for the rights of the people, quickly to be replaced by his acceptance of "donation money" by the very organizations he was lobbying against, makes the world of politics seem fruitless and futile.
Ugliness Imagery
The Yucca Mountain Project is an ugly truth, and this ugly truth is paralleled by the appearance of the mountain itself. D'Agata describes it as being squat, not pretty, and looking like debris from some other mountain. The Shoshone, a Native American tribe, call the Yucca Mountain “the carcass of a snake, a giant desert creature that was trying to find a drink, collapsed there in exhaustion, rotted as it died" ("WHY").
Desert Landscape Imagery
D'Agata uses images in her description of the desert that highlights its wide-open spaces and harsh nothingness. Words that describe untamed expanses, untamed mountains, and the parched, sun-baked landscape evoke a sense of unending solitude. The contrast between human activity and the ageless aspect of nature, as well as existential issues of solitude, are emphasized by this motif.
