Cigarettes

Throughout the novel, the author uses cigarettes to symbolize dependency. Though all of the CHA houses are supposed to have a common activist cause in common, the members of Nicotine only share their addiction to nicotine. Penny fits in immediately as a smoker. Almost every scene between the friends features smoking, thus illustrating their unrealized reliance, not only on the substance, but on one another for a sense of identity and stability. Whenever Penny is stressed or restless, she is also depicted smoking, thus showing her attempt to regain balance.

Squatters

The squatters that reside in each of the CHA houses symbolize restlessness. Though all of the anarchists living in these houses believe tout some social justice cause, many of their endeavors appear vacuous or performative. Most of them are young and searching. Squatting in the abandoned homes allows them to live in an interstitial space...