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Miss Durrant
Privet / Liguster
Described as having a harsh, coarse, and vulgar scent, privet (“liguster” in German) is a type of shrub commonly found in Europe. It is also the source of the unsettling, “embarrassingly familiar breath of sweetness”…
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The Letter “X”
During their investigation of Keith’s mother’s desk, Stephen and Keith examine her diary and find tiny X marks on specific days in her calendar. They find a pattern in the “X’s,” which occur once…
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Germs
Stephen exhibits what is almost an obsession (perhaps connected to OCD, or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) against getting germs on himself. He finds “germs” on a variety of objects: the slime from the tunnel, the children…
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The Bayonet
A bayonet is a bladed weapon that can be attached to a firearm, like a rifle. Keith’s father used one in World War I, and he carries it with him when he goes off to…
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