Filth and despair
Meredith sits “on the curb at the back of the parking lot near the Dumpster”. All waste “from the condo complex bakes in this cumbersome green kiln and the stench is shocking”, it is “heavy with rancid grease and sickly-sweet decay”. There were some attempts to “beautify the Dumpster, painting the rusty sides a perky green”, but they were in vain. This imagery perfectly describes the way Meredith feels. They promised her “nine years of safety” but ultimately "only gave her three." Her father, the person who raped her and sexually abused other children, is going to be released today. Her prospects look as scary as this Dumpster.
Grace
Andy’s room smells “like a fresh grave in June”. He burns “the same patchouli candles as his mother” in his shadowy bedroom. Beside patchouli, there are scents of “the sweet musk of damask roses”. It makes Meredith think “of sun-warmed petals scattered by mourners to honor a passing”. The strangest thing about it is absence of “live flowers in Andy’s house”. What is more, “there haven’t been for as long as” she has known him. The scent “doesn’t increase or decrease” and the Mueses “accept it without a question”. This imagery sparks curiosity. Meredith and readers try to understand the mysterious nature of a rose scent.
That fat freak
According to Meredith’s mother, Paula Mues is “that fat slob Jesus freak” with a “crippled kid”. What Sharon prefers to ignore is that Paula used to look differently. She was “slim, doe-eyed brunette in blue jeans and T-shirts, a technical engineer who’d done a stint in the army”. Of course, “the extra weight, gray-streaked hair, and black-framed magnifying glasses” have altered her appearance. Ever since she learned about Andy’s molestation at Meredith’s father’s hands, she devoted her life to atoning for the tragedy. This imagery creates a rather sand and unsettling feeling, for it depicts how one person can destroy a life of an innocent person, how betrayal transforms people.
