Savvy Symbols

The symbol used in this story is an Angel. Several angels appear different times, and Mibs likes each one better than the one before it. One angel is in the beginning, one throughout the middle, and another through the end.
The fist angel belongs to the preacher’s wife. It’s a “smiling angel air freshener dangling in the front window” of her van (17). Mibs does not like this angel because she does no really like its owner. The adjective ‘smiling’ creates an image of an indifferent creature who cannot care.

The second angel is tattooed onto Bobbie’s back. “the tattoo was a picture of a little angel with a golden halo and outstretched wings, only this angel had a devilish grin and a pointed red tail to match” (52). At first Mibs does not really like Bobbie, but through the story they gain a kind of understanding of each other, and it even looks like a friendship

The third and last angel Mibs finds on her adventure is not even a real angel. This last one is a figurative angel, someone Mibs claims must be one. Mibs describes her as “a lighthearted lady with no tattoos” (137). Mibs really likes Lill. Lill represents comfort and even acts a little like her Momma. Mibs says “For a minute I though maybe Lill might be an angel sent to look after us… not a devil-tailed angel like Bobbi’s tattoo, nor a heavily perfumed and sappy-smiling angel like the air freshener hanging in the front window of Miss Rosemary’s minivan. A real angel. One with really big feet” (143).