Preganancy Imagery
Several of the characters in these stories are pregnant, and they are certainly described as such through their own dialogue, that of others, and especially the descriptions of the all-seeing author. These women have large bellies, understandably, and they are characterized by other types of imagery as well: descriptions of babies' movement, people's reactions, and difficulty moving. This imagery represents the burden of childbirth, but it also conveys the sense of the importance of giving birth to a new life.
Hair Dye Imagery
In "Lost Parts," Helen wants to change herself to live a more fulfilled life, currently possessed by grief and lacking most other emotions because of the car crash that killed her boyfriend. She goes to a woman who dyes her hair, but she returns to find that she enacted almost no change - her hair is still brown, and possibly even worse. This disappointment with the imagery of hair represents the inevitable failure of trying to make oneself happier by changing one's physical appearance.
Rooster Imagery
In "The Rightness of Things," Rachel temporarily gets with a man named Harry, a shorter guy who has the appearance and demeanor of a rooster, "strutting" around and generally behaving in an arrogant, birdlike way. Rachel privately calls him a rooster in her mind, and the image is apt: he likes to be the man among women and assert dominance despite his self-aggrandizing strut.
High Society Imagery
In "Joelle's Mother," the Mexican protagonists see their half-sister, Joelle, as the embodiment of high society and class. She is described as being Italian and exotic, with expensive clothes and a stunning figure. These bits of imagery contribute to their near-idolatry of Joelle, which is broken when she reveals herself to be a haughty snob at the end of the story.
