Confederate flags

The rebel flags symbolize history and the South. For the white supremacists, they represent and revive a glorious, lost past, whereas to Black people, the flags are a dreaded symbol of persecution and a sign of coming trouble – an aggressive reminder of slavery, as well as more recent outrages.

Water

Water symbolizes the familiarity of home, but also its dangers. On her return to North Carolina, Colleen realizes that “she’d missed bridges and open water, although she’d grown up terrified of both” (116). What defines the region is its treacherous terrain, and the obstacles that water creates (as when Frye’s properties begin sinking into the swampland). Crossing bridges – over the waterway or over the tellingly named Cape Fear River – is always an act of courage, a leap of faith. The novel often seems to foreshadow death by drowning, via dreams or the memory...