Dean's Attack
A short time after he and the other boys rape her, Dean attacks Ani again outside of Hilary's house. This second attack is described in even more detail and imagery than the previous rapes. The imagery also shows that this attack is very vivid because Ani has already been traumatized once, and has become more aware of what can possibly happen to her. During the rapes, Ani is addled and confused, but during Dean's second attack, she is determined to avoid being subjected to brutal domination a second time.
The Bomb
The first phase of the attack at the Bradley School is the detonation of several homemade bombs. When these blasts occur, Ani is in the school cafeteria and when she first comes to, she is subject to the smells, sounds, and sights resulting from the destruction. Students have been killed and wounded, there are limbs strewn around, a fire is raging, and there is smoke everywhere. The gruesome and hellish scene is described using vivid imagery to describe how the traumatic event was indelibly written into Ani's mind.
New York City
Ani loves living in New York City, and considers it to be a part of her identity that she never wants to give up. She is also very observant and sometimes sarcastic about people who do not fit into her image of what New Yorkers should be like. Ani describes all of the good and the bad about New York City, and the imagery she uses is often influenced by her awareness of social class. Ani's keen eye for aesthetic details and the imagery she uses to convey them shows that she is very vigilant about her environment and identity. She assumes that someone is always watching her and judging her because she is always judging other people.
Ani's Dinner
When Ani first encounters Mr. Larson, she meets him at a dinner where they are accompanied by Luke, and Mr. Larson's wife, Whitney. Ani's description uses imagery to capture the atmosphere of the dinner, her impressions of seeing Mr. Larson after years apart, and her distaste for his wife. The imagery reveals that this encounter is an important even for Ani, and also hints that Mr. Larson is connected to her more authentic sense of self. Often, in her life in New York with Luke, Ani is posturing and not being genuine, but she is not pretending in her strong reaction to seeing Mr. Larson again.
