Heaven

When Alison returned to New Jersey after having lived a glamorous life in Paris, she would often dream of that life and call it heaven. For Alison, heaven meant a life filled with beauty, wealth, and privilege, the complete opposite of what she experienced with her family in New Jersey.

Music

Music is important in the story for both Alison and her father. It was a way for them to evoke their emotions without having to talk about them. Mr. Owen lived in operas and music from World War II which meant something to him. Alison wanted to live in music and saw her life and the people in it played out on a backdrop of music.

Flowers

When Alison is a teenager living in San Francisco, she sells flowers on the street to make some money. The flowers symbolize Alison's innocence as she also makes...