Andy’s red hair

Andromeda’s red hair symbolizes betrayal. It is a fiery reminder of Mary’s affair with Eden’s friend and narrator of this novel. It also remains a reminder of Mary’s desperation at trying to control her surroundings by keeping Eden from reenlisting. And, most emotionally, it is a reminder of how Mary had given up on Eden when he was unable to conceive a child with her.

Cockroach

When Eden sees the cockroach it instills fear, but the cockroach is also symbolic of survival. Eden believes the cockroaches will crawl into his wounds and this terrifies him (24), but there is one roach in particular that seems to hover around him like a harbinger of doom. Eden has a phobia of all bugs, but it is not surprising that a cockroach is chosen, an insect that can survive literally anything: lack of...