Crickets (Auditory Imagery)
In the opening page of the memoir, Tara describes that the first "memory" she has is actually a figment of her imagination. In this scene, she hears the sound of crickets as her family huddles in the kitchen, hiding from the Feds. This use of auditory imagery represents the family's physical, emotional, and ideological distance from the world. The Westovers are alone, and they are paranoid about the forces of the universe outside of Gene's control.
The Family Home (Visual Imagery)
Tara is intrigued by her older brother Tyler, who has a strong sense of individuality from a young age. She observes Tyler move around the home, attempting to organize and label their family's messy environment. Tara describes her house as "pure confusion" and explains that "piles of unwashed laundry, oily and black from the junkyard, littered the bedroom floors; in the kitchen, murky jars of tincture lined every table and cabinet..." Tara uses visual imagery to depict a detailed portrait of the Westover world. In her childhood, Tara is aware that her house and its disorganization is a physical manifestation of her home's unhealthy emotional environment. Tyler's behavior within the home foreshadows his later plan to attend BYU and turn his back on his life in Buck's Peak.
Piano (Auditory Imagery)
After Gene forbids Tara from attending dance classes, Faye enrolls Tara in piano lessons. Tara describes her teacher as "tall and thin, with fingernails that clicked as they flew across the piano keys." Tara is clearly mesmerized by her piano teacher, and she admires the ease in which she can play her instrument. This image contributes to the memoir's theme of art as a means of escape. The clicking sound of the piano is therapeutic for Tara, and it provides her with a sense of joy and comfort that she does not feel at home.
Tara's Lunch (Olfactory Imagery)
After a draining summer day working in the scrapyard, Faye prepares lunch for the family. Tara recalls the lunch "with unsettling clarity. [She remembers] the clammy smell of beef-and-potato casserole, and the jingle of ice cubes tumbling into tall glasses, which sweated in the summer heat." Tara's language conveys how unpleasant the meal is. In literature, food and eating often symbolize culture, acceptance, relationships, and power. Tara's repulsive dining experience exemplifies her family's fraught tensions. Ultimately, Tara is unable to feel a true sense of comfort at home—she is afraid of the scrapyard, she has trouble navigating the filthy common spaces, and she is disgusted by the food that Faye cooks.
