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Symbols
The thank-you cards that Eilis helps her mother write to people who sent their condolences after Rose’s death represent the kind of emotional expression that Eilis—and her entire family—find so difficult to practice. Uncomfortable talking about her feelings, Eilis hates having to sit down with her mother and write detailed notes about how she and her mother are doing in the wake of Rose’s passing. Worse, her mother wants every card to be meticulously written, paying close attention to how she and Eilis are presenting themselves. In this regard, the notes also reflect the family’s obsession with reputation, as Mrs. Lacey tries to maintain her public image by writing gracious and heartfelt notes that make herself and her daughter look respectable and dignified. In turn, the notes themselves come to stand for the odd relationship that the Laceys have with both emotional articulation and social standing.
The Thank-You Cards Quotes in Brooklyn
The Brooklyn quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Thank-You Cards. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Part Four
Quotes
Eilis marvelled at the different ways each person had expressed condolences once they had gone beyond the first one or two sentences. Her mother tried too, in how she replied, to vary the tone and the content, to write something suitable in response to each person. But it was slow and by the end of the first day Eilis had still not gone out into the street or had any time alone. And less than half the work was done.
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Ellis worked out in her head that the wedding was four days after the planned date of her departure; she also remembered that the travel agent in Brooklyn had said she could change the date as long as she notified the shipping company in advance. She decided there and then that she would stay an extra week and hoped that no one in Bartocci’s would object too strongly. It would be easy to explain to Tony that her mother had misunderstood her date of departure, even though Eilis did not believe that her mother had misunderstood anything.
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The Thank-You Cards Symbol Timeline in Brooklyn
The timeline below shows where the symbol The Thank-You Cards appears in Brooklyn. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part Four
...focuses on various details regarding Rose’s death, talking about how she needs Eilis’s help writing thank-you cards to the many people who sent notes or visited the house to pay their respects....
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Together, Eilis and her mother write thank-you cards to the people who sent condolences. Eilis’s mother has even memorized some of the things...
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