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Howard’s Hearing Aid
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Sedum Plant Symbol Analysis |
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Stone Path
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Helen takes great pride and pleasure in undertaking home improvement projects, which solidify her feeling of superiority to those in her suburban community who come from lower class backgrounds. When she brings Frank and April a gift of a sedum plant (a kind of succulent) to improve their lawn, she is signaling that she sees them as her equals in terms of class and education. She expects that they will take the same care with the plant that she would, because she sees gardening and beautifying one’s property as the kind of virtuous activity that well-adjusted, well-off people enjoy. Frank and April are irritated by the plant, however—reflecting their general dislike of the Givingses—and immediately put it in the basement.