The sight made Serena feel melancholy. Homesick, almost.
-- Narrator (chapter 1)

Importance: After a lengthy argument about family with her boyfriend, James, Serena turns her face out the train window. Rather than comforting her, the passing scenes only amplify her emotional state. The image of lone birds sitting on scattered posts particularly augments her feelings of loneliness, homesickness, and longing. This moment is significant, in that it alludes to the ways in which Serena's broken family structure has imperceptibly impacted her psychologically. The moment also foreshadows innumerable other instances in the novel where the characters feel lonely, and where their relationships with their families heighten these feelings.

They looked so scattered, and so lonesome.
-- Narrator (chapter 2)

Importance: In 1959, the Garrett family takes their first family vacation to Deep Creek Lake. Although the trip is meant to bring them together, Alice notices at the start of the trip how detached they all are from one another. Her observations...