Teeter-Totter

The teeter-totter is a symbol of changes in life. Lucas says that looking back he realized that his life was on a fulcrum that would change its trajectory in the summer of 1969. He uses the physical image of the teeter-totter as a physical example to help his reader visualize how the things he experienced during that summer impacted his life.

Roy’s Letter

Roy’s letter is a symbol of the unknown. Lucas receives a letter from his brother that has been so heavily redacted by the government that Lucas cannot even tell what his brother is trying to describe to him. Lucas knows there is a good deal of things happening in Vietnam that he cannot understand because he had not fought in a war. Similarly, there is a good deal going on in Lucas’ life that is unknown and he has trouble understanding because...