“Cartoon, birds flying” - Chapter one
Cronin expounds, “ Her left ear was ringing a little, like a cartoon, birds flying around her head." The ringing transpires after Reynold assaults Jeanette sending her to the floor. The sounds of birds indicate that the blow was fatal for it elicits imaginary sounds.
Secret - Chapter one
Cronin writes, “And she was glad she had it. Just knowing it was in her purse made her realize she'd been afraid before and now wasn't, or at least not so much. The gun was like a secret, the secret of who she was, like she was carrying the last bit of herself in her purse." Evidently, the gun offers Jeanette confidence for it assures her that she can protect herself in the event of an attack. Comparing the gun to a secret depicts her inherent fears in life which the gun reduces.
Jungle - Chapter two
Lear sends Paul an email reading, “ Greetings from the jungles of Bolivia, landlocked armpit of the Andes. From where you sit in frigid Cambridge, watching the snowfall, I'm sure a month in the tropics doesn't sound a bad deal. But believe me: this is not St. Bart's. Yesterday I saw a snake the size of a submarine." Manifestly, the metaphoric jungle depicts Bolivia as an utter wilderness. The presence of super-large snakes in Bolivia contributes to the relevance of the metaphorical jungle. Such being snakes would not be found in Cambridge because it is not an archetypal wilderness.
