Garage door opener

A garage door opener is found hidden in Becka’s old RAV by Raymer, and symbolizes the fact that she was having an affair before her death. Raymer spends much of the novel trying to figure out who Becka’s lover was by using the remote on random people’s garages. When he passes out and falls in Flatt’s grave, Raymer loses the remote and takes it as a sign that he is not meant to find the lover. When Rub finds and returns the remote, Raymer takes it as a sign he is meant to see the search through.

Earthquake

The Old Mill sewer gas explosion causes and earthquake. Raymer infers that the earthquake is symbolic of either God’s warning not to proceed, or that the search will only lead to unhappiness. He considers this because the earthquake occurs at the...