Smell
It has been suggested that the sense of smell is capable of provoking the brain to emotional stimulation more than any of the other senses. The narrator examines this idea unwittingly. “I inhaled through my nose, trying to restore my breathing and immediately regretting it. Because what an awful idea that had been. The worst idea. All I had accomplished was filling my lungs with Aaron’s scent. Aaron’s very nice and very heady and very, very masculine scent. Could I unsmell it, please, universe? Please.” This use of imagery illustrates the complexity of how the sense of smell can impact emotional stability. Aaron’s musky odor is clearly situated as a pleasant thing in itself, but the reaction to its sudden manifestation produces a response of an intensely negative reaction to the point of pleading with the universe to reverse time.
Blue Eyed Blackford
Aaron Blackford has blue eyes. This biological fact leads to one of the most persistently reoccurring utilizations of imagery in the novel. The key thing about the reoccurrence of this imagery is how the emotional tenor swings so wildly: “My eyes traveled further up then, reaching his blue ones—blue that reminded me of the depths of the ocean, where everything was cold and deadly—and finding them on me.” The blue is situated here as coldly mysterious like the ocean, where dangerous predators lie in wait for the weak. And then, later: “Hungry blue eyes, which I would gladly get lost in, swiped up and down my body as I lay on the bed.” The same man, yet the emotional tenor has by this point completely changed. The narrator has moved from scared potential victim to an eagerness to be devoured.
And it Felt Like a Punch
When a very specific example of imagery reoccurs throughout a first-person narrative, it is often a clue offering insight into the narrator's psyche. In this case, the reoccurrence is particularly odd. “That confirmation, that part of the deal bit, felt like a punch to the stomach…His question felt like a punch, right in my stomach…I felt the air being punched out of my lungs.” These are just three examples plucked from almost a dozen different times across the breadth of the novel that the narrator refers to punching. In order to fully interpret any psychological insight into the meaning of this violent imagery applied mostly to non-violent circumstances, some sort of context is necessary. Unfortunately, none is offered. Such a lack of context inevitably leads to the conclusion that the imagery is likely subconscious. Whether that subconsciousness belongs to the narrator or the author remains unclear.
Waiting for the End of the World
Another example of reoccurring imagery reveals the propensity of the narrator to express using violent imagery. ”I somehow dropped the bomb before we ever sat down…These past two days had felt like waiting for a bomb to drop when I least expected it…It was like waiting for a bomb to drop…I felt like I would detonate like a bomb if he didn’t touch me there too…There was something lodged right in between my ribs that felt a lot like a ticking bomb.” In this particular case, enough contextual evidence is provided within the surrounding narration to draw a sensible conclusion. The constant hyperbolic overstatement of equating consequences with the annihilation caused by the detonation of bombs indicates a certain level of immaturity. Much of the narrative account supports this interpretation of immaturity.
