Cruddy Car
The narrator uses the imagery of a cruddy car to describe her situation: "I sold the expensive car. With some of the money, I bought a little green used Honda that smelled of cigarette smoke inside and had only two working doors, both on the driver’s side. The seats were covered in that fake velvety stuff, dull gray-brown, with splotches…The car was cruddy, but it ran, and it provided great cover." The car represents her life at the time: it is "cruddy," it smells of cigarette smoke, and its components are all old and worn down. It is also a symbol of her anonymity: the car is unremarkable and blends into the background, just like she does when she takes on her new identity as Suzanne Flaherty. Thus, the imagery of the cruddy car is used to convey the author's current state of affairs and her ability to cope with it.
Shroud of Turin
The narrator uses imagery to describe the impressions left by Julie’s body on the sheets of the massage table. She compares these impressions to the “shroud of Turin, if Jesus had been really tall”. This imagery emphasizes the miraculous nature of Julie's impressions since they served as a sign of hope and contentment to the narrator. The description conveys the idea that the narrator was comforted by the presence of Julie and her body as if it was a divine sign that everything was going to be all right. It expresses the idea that, even amid uncertainty, the narrator was able to find peace and contentment by connecting with Julie and her body.
Physical State
The narrator uses the imagery of the character's state to illustrate the physical and emotional exhaustion she is feeling after her experience with the whale. She describes her body as "every part of [her] hurt[ing], every muscle, every tendon, every joint," and her hands as "blistered," her face as "stung from what felt like sunburn - moonburn," her hair as "thick with sand and salt," and her nose as "scratched." This imagery paints a vivid picture of the physical pain and exhaustion the character is feeling in the aftermath of her experience with the whale. It also serves to emphasize the emotional connection she feels to the whale as if her physical pain is a manifestation of her emotional connection to the animal. The description of her body in the hot, salty bath is also used to draw a comparison to the whale's experience in the sea, suggesting that the character is seeking a sense of the same peace and solace the whale must have felt in the ocean.
Desolate Beach
The narrator paints a picture of a desolate beach with a power plant in the near distance, a "flutter of bird wings", and the sound of a plane now and then. The whale is described as "limp, twisted, bare to the sky" and is compared to the shadow of a small cloud in the sky, making it seem even more small and helpless. The narrator furthers the feeling of despair by describing the whale as "deflating, becoming heavier and heavier on the sand, incapable of flotation." The imagery of the whale "sinking, sagging and tumbling in unevenly, like a house rotting" is particularly powerful and accentuates the helplessness of the situation.
