The Orange Sunglasses

The orange sunglasses Yuki buys at the beginning of the novel symbolize the beginning of her foray into a more typical American teenage existence, a departure from her ordered Japanese home environment. This is timed perfectly, as she meets Odile right after acquiring them, and Odile is an archetype of the American teenage girl – sullen, waifish, rebellious, and interested in clothes and boys. On her first night out with Odile, after she is groped by the boy they met in the bar, Yuki drops her sunglasses and steps on them, getting a piece of the glass stuck in her foot. This is ominous symbolism, the implication being that both Odile herself and the path she is offering Yuki are dangerous.

Jay's Father's Plate

The plate is a symbol of Jay and his father's close relationship, as well as Jay's mental state after his father's...