Park Slope

Park Slope is a well-to-do section of Brooklyn where Jim and Helen live. It is symbolic of the upscale lifestyle that defines their characters to a large extent.

Shirley Falls

Shirley Falls is the small town in Maine where the Burgess siblings grew up. It symbolizes everything that Jim and Bob tried to escape by moving to New York, but it is also a place to which they are forever tied. The setting is also important because of the cultural clash caused when a group of Somali residents try to assimilate in a traditional small town.

Frozen Pig's Head

Zach's troubles begin when he tosses a frozen pig's head into the Shirley Falls mosque on a Muslim holy day, causing accusations of a hate crime. Because Muslims cannot associate with pork -- something Zach did not know -- the incident was particularly heinous, so it...