Tilt

The crib functions as a symbol of the false promises of consumer culture, particularly as they relate to motherhood and the harsh economic realities that define Annie and Dom’s generation. Annie’s trip to IKEA to purchase a crib is devoid of excitement and joy about her impending motherhood. Instead, she is overwhelmed by physical, emotional, and financial strain. Still, she tells herself, “You are meant to have that crib” (5), revealing how deeply she has internalized the belief that proper consumption is proof of proper motherhood. Annie discovers that the crib isn’t on the shelves despite the system showing otherwise, and this moment forces her to confront the fundamental unreliability of the structures—capitalism, institutions, social rituals—that she has been taught to trust. This moment crystallizes how consumer culture dangles security just out of reach, promising solutions it cannot deliver. Ultimately, the crib becomes the catalyst for Annie’s entire journey, embodying the theme of Crisis as Liberation From Social Performance by forcing her to abandon the civilized ritual of purchasing the “right” products for her baby.

The crib also connects to the theme of The Crushing Weight of Dreams Deferred, as it represents yet another way that Annie and Dom’s financial limitations prevent them from achieving the domestic stability they crave. The struggle to access even basic products that promise the baby’s safety—like a toxin-free mattress—underscores their stalled creative ambition and stagnant finances.

Phones and failed technology symbolize the collapse of modern systems that mask authentic human connection. Annie’s lost phone becomes the emblem of her complete disconnection from the comfortable illusions of contemporary life, forcing her into an unmediated reality where social performance becomes impossible. The repeated failure of communication technology—with calls not going through and text messages failing to send—represents how the digital scaffolding that normally maintains relationships and identities crumbles during catastrophe. 

Annie’s phantom-limb relationship with her missing phone reveals the depth of modern dependency on technology. Even after she loses her phone following the earthquake, she says, “Every couple of minutes, I check my pockets for my phone. I can’t help it” (43). Her compulsive reaching for her phone illustrates her dependence on it, showing how its absence causes disorientation and anxiety. Without her phone, Annie is unsure of how to communicate since she is not used to engaging with the world without its mediation. This highlights how crisis strips away the performative tools that people use to maintain their social identities. The symbol connects to the theme of Crisis as Liberation From Social Performance by demonstrating how the breakdown of communication networks forces authentic human interaction—Annie must rely on strangers, physical presence, and basic survival skills rather than the mediated connections that normally define her relationships.