Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
Every once in a while, a headline from one of Esther's tabloids is splashed across the page, interrupting the regular flow of the material. And you might notice that these headlines look a lot like what we get off of US Weekly or People today. Few of us can look away from these headlines when we're languishing in a supermarket checkout line, and the novel pokes fun at our lurid fascination with sensational events and celebrity gossip. Like Esther with her highfalutin literary studies, most of us do have a voice in our heads telling us that we should be spending more time reading about serious issues rather than the seedy details of this rich-and-beautiful-something's break-up with that rich-and-beautiful-something.