Plane in Bay

The downed plane in the bay at the novel's start is symbolic of mystery. When the reader and the characters first encounter the plane, they believe that it is the narrative's primary source of tension and conflict. However, the plane's significance recedes into the narrative margins over the course of the novel without resolution, thus enacting the unknowable facets of human life and experience.

Diving

Bobby's salvage diving job is symbolic of fear. Although he has begun a career in the business, Bobby remains afraid of the cold, dark depths he must enter as a diver. Diving is thus representative of the fear Bobby feels regarding forgetting his sister. In the same way that diving is both sustainable and terrifying, Bobby's love for and grief over his sister are ongoing and plaguing.

Alicia's Letters

Alicia's letters are symbolic of the past. Bobby retains these...