That's Not What Happened

Content Warning: This section includes discussion of school shootings, death by gun violence, trauma, mental and emotional health concerns, substance use disorder, and grief.

“No one who was actually there, who remembers what happened, will be there after we’re gone. We’re the last class. The last survivors. Once we’re gone, everyone at VCHS will only know what they heard or saw on TV. It’ll just be a story to them.”

Denny’s comments on the third anniversary of the shooting are early evidence of the theme of The Complexities of Truth and Perspective. His words encapsulate Lee’s major internal struggle throughout the novel: Many have the wrong idea about Sarah’s actions during the shooting, which creates a lasting false narrative about her death. Denny’s lines impact the plot, as they incite Lee’s motivation, causing her to realize that the stories will be impossible to change once they graduate.

“‘What?’ The word came out as a cough. My throat felt tight all of a sudden. The way it does after I’ve been stung by a bee, before Mom gets out the EpiPen. I tried to breathe through it, but overhead, the bell rang, sharp and loud, startling all four of us. Which didn’t help.”

With this metaphor in an early flashback, Lee likens her emotional reaction to the news that Kellie has moved to the physical sensation she experiences during a bee sting reaction. While an EpiPen’s medication brings relief from this feeling of impending suffocation, Lee cannot find any relief trying to “breathe through” her guilt. The passage increases suspense, as the reasons for Lee’s guilt are yet unknown. The clanging bell is an example of auditory imagery; the survivors’ reaction to the noise is a reminder they experience lasting fear months after the trauma.