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Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 2017

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Summary

Background

Story Analysis

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

Ivy’s Instagram Posts

The vignettes containing Ivy’s Instagram posts are succinct yet vivid descriptions of objects photographed and framed for consumption. They are a motif that represents Ivy’s desire to shape the world’s perception of her. The objects in these posts symbolize different things to Ivy and provide insight into Ivy’s inner self, even if her father struggles to interpret them. Because the Instagram posts are not easily deciphered, they illustrate Ivy’s psychological complexity, reinforcing her round characterization in contrast to stereotypes about young girls.

One example is the post of “a peeled-off pair of ballet tights, splayed on the white tiles of a bathroom floor” (181). While Ivy is a dancer and this picture could convey a love of dance, she chose to post a pair of dirty tights rather than a photo of herself dancing. Combined with the verb “splay,” the image conveys frustration or exhaustion, perhaps a reflection on Ivy’s work in physical therapy and her frustration about her injury. Another example is “a bared collarbone with a seat-belt burn running diagonally across it. The welt shiny with ointment, and pink” (199). This image of her injury is intimate and surprising, reflecting the shock of the car accident in her ordinary life. Its shared pink motif with the other images in her feed shows her trying to make sense of what happened and fit it into her life and self-conception.

Finally, because Dave and his wife can’t derive meaning from the images, the Instagram posts also represent the generational divide and their struggle to connect with their daughter.

Ivy

Ivy’s name is a symbol that reflects the character’s personal growth. Ivy is a genus of approximately 15 species of plants known for their upward climb. Although these plants can spread across the ground, they proliferate when they have a surface on which to climb vertically. With proper care, some of these species can extend 30 meters above the ground. Ivy is often used as an ornamental plant in environments like outdoor cafés, and it also conveys age and stature when it spreads across buildings.

Like ivy plants, Ivy is growing. She is at the point of adolescence where she is reaching toward her adult self. Sometimes, she appears to creep slowly, sitting inside herself rather than reaching outward. Other times, she expands, growing upward and exhibiting adult-like qualities. Like the plants being used for ornamental purposes, Ivy’s Instagram page—the expression of her identity—is carefully crafted so that the color palette is aesthetically pleasing.

The Nutcracker

In one of the final scenes, Ivy performs as a Chinese Dragon dancer in The Nutcracker. The Nutcracker is a Tchaikovsky ballet that is based on a book by E. T. A. Hoffman. The basic plot revolves around Clara, an adolescent girl who receives a nutcracker from her godfather on Christmas Eve. When her brother becomes jealous of the beautiful gift, the siblings fight over it, and the nutcracker breaks. Crestfallen, she falls asleep and dreams of imaginative lands in which toys, candies, and snowflakes come to life, engaging her in wonderous sequences of awe and delight. The nutcracker becomes a prince who dances with her and protects her from an army of mice, and Clara falls in love for the first time.

Like Clara, who creates an imaginary world to deal with the disappointment of the broken toy, Ivy engages in a variety of creative and imaginary activities to deal with her adolescent angst. She immerses herself in the virtual world of influencers and YouTube, she constructs Instagram posts, and she makes up songs about being “the best.” She practices her dancing and engages in artistic activities at the kitchen table. Although her dad is at a loss for what these activities mean (in fact, he obsesses over them), Ivy’s use of imagination is a functional and healthy way of making sense of a world that is both daunting and painful.

The Nutcracker looms over the text—Ivy’s audition is emotional, and her work in physical therapy is preparing her for the performance. As such, The Nutcracker is a symbol of how Ivy is coming of age and preparing to move through the world. Her role in the dragon costume, working with others yet identifiable by her legs—as well as The Nutcracker’s structure as an ensemble ballet, composed of vignettes by many different dancers—shows that fulfillment can come through being part of something, even if one isn’t the prima ballerina or protagonist.