Shirley Temple/Annie

The actress Shirley Temple and the character of Little Orphan Annie are implied to be two iconic American girls, “America’s darlings.” Whenever the author uses them in the text it denotes impossible ideals of the era that Turtle can never live up to.

Hollywood

Hollywood is representative of false happiness within the story. The author often puts mentions of Hollywood into the text before adding in a negative element. Hollywood can also be connected as a direct cause to the issues of the people of this time and how delusional they can be about their lives.

Five dollar bill

The five dollar bill is used as not only foreshadowing but as a representation of the tie between Turtle and Archie. He tells her to keep it for emergencies and yet he is the one who causes the emergency by stealing all of Turtle...