“When the sun rests on the rim of the trees, we leave, and Manny is on the court now with his girl. They are playing a game of one-on-one, and he is taunting her, knocking the ball out of her hand so it ricochets across the court. Her laughter carries on the softening pink wind. Big Henry closes his door. I slam mine, and Randall scoots over to the passenger side of the windshield. Junior holds the top of the door, still standing on his bike, and Big Henry folds his big paw over Junior’s. Big Henry taps the gas and then eases, and this is how we follow Skeetah and China, who are both running now, both sucking dark and blazing bright under the setting sun and the scudding clouds all the way home.”

This event is significant because it reveals similarities between Medea and Esch, and it shows Esch’s emotions and reactions to Manny’s new relationship. It reveals that Esch feels a connection to Medea because, similarly to Medea, she felt that she showed all the love she possibly could to Manny and made huge sacrifices for him (the baby). When Esch realized she had been replaced, she reacted similarly to Medea finding out that Jason did not love her back. This was seen when Esch angrily drives away, which can be compared to Medea rejecting the gold Jason offered, and Medea completely cutting Jason off.

This allusion also revealed a central theme of jealousy. Jealousy made both Medea and Esch have different attitudes towards having children than most people. In Medea’s case, jealousy and hatred ultimately resulted in her killing the children, while Esch dreaded having the child and wished she could have gotten an abortion. This theme is significant and was revealed by this allusion because it showed Esch's feelings of regret and hatred.

This is an oil painting on canvas that was painted by Joseph Mallord William Turner in 1828. It shows Medea killing her children and performing spells with the spell recipes laying on the ground around her.

I think that a lifeboat symbolizes Esch. This is because lifeboats are always used in times of danger when a boat is sinking and people need to be saved. The events that happen right before the book ends can be symbolized by a sinking boat. Since Esch survived these terrible events (harmful both emotionally and physically) and has to pull her life back together, she can be represented as a lifeboat because lifeboats provide order like she did in the end by attempting to keep her family calm and safe, and saving her baby.