Significance of Trash

Trash is discarded in a unique fashion in Shaker Heights because trash is an "unsightly spectacle," and its imperfect debris clutters the street (9). Trash is the stuff of humanity that the residents of Shaker Heights want to push under the rug and pretend doesn't exist. Trash symbolizes everything Mrs. Richardson wants to keep hidden from view despite the reality that it exists and requires attention. Trash is like racism in Shaker Heights; to Lexie, "no one sees race" there, but just like the garbage hidden at the back of each house, Moody retorted, "Everyone sees race, Lex...The only difference is who pretends not to" (42). The residents of Shaker Heights pretend their garbage does not exist, similar to how wealthy "white" America pretends racism is a thing of the past.