lugubrious (96): mournful, dismal, or gloomy, especially in an affected, exaggerated manner
albatross (102): used as slang for a trap or a deception
Figurative Language
Simile: "Her mouth opened into a perfect rosebud O, like a child blowing out birthday candles in a picture book. Then she began to cry" (97). Iris makes the connection here in the similarity of reactions of sadness and happiness. This fits with her misunderstanding or skewed perspective of human emotions.
Simile: "Then she brought the soda for me, in a cone-shaped glass like a dunce cap upside down; it came with two straws" (100). Once again, something usually thought of as happy (being treated to a soda) takes on a skewed negative aspect in Iris' mind: the shape of the soda glass is likened to that of a dunce cap. Is this foreshadowing her confusion and disinterest into economics? Her connections aren't a problem with her character; it's just interesting to see what she associates.
Simile: "Hands like stumps: those hands could rescue you or beat you to a pulp and they would look the same while doing either thing" (105). This simile is interesting: the author makes the association of the hands and stumps, blunt objects, but continues to talk of two extremes in which they could perform: helping and harming. Perhaps this is the nature of blunt instruments: they must be used generally, there is no fine tuning, they are either saving you or beating you up.
Quote
"Now I think it was more complicated than that. It may have been a warning. It may also have been a burden. Even if love was underneath it all, there was a great deal piled on top, and what would you find when you dug down? Not a simple gift, pure gold and shining; instead, something ancient and possibly baneful, like an iron charm rusting among the old bones. A talisman of sorts, this love, but a heavy one; a heavy thing for me to carry around with me, slung on its iron chain around my neck" (102). This quote was depressing in its appraisal of love but shows well the experiences of Iris as a child: she doesn't have a way to understand love. For her, it is a burden, an obligation to a family member. Even as an adult, what reference does she have to understand it? Is familial love for her different than romantic love? Does she know any love? She seems to love her granddaughter; why's that? Is that familial love? Why isn't it forced? What about her daughter?
Theme
One can't be entirely independent but one cannot rely solely on others. One has to find a middle ground.
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