60 pages • 2 hours read
You Are Not Alone
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Symbols & Motifs
Fashion and Appearance
Fashion and appearance form an important motif in the novel, reflecting both the Moore sisters’ manipulation and Shay’s own insecurity. One of the first qualities Shay notices about Cassandra and Jane is their chic, seemingly effortless style. Shay is sure that much of their confidence and charisma are rooted in their stylishness, and she is thrilled when they suggest a makeover.
Shay does not realize that style is only one piece of the sisters’ identity and that the makeover is part of their broader manipulative interest in Shay. The makeover is, in reality, part of the sisters’ attempt to make Shay appear dangerously obsessed with Amanda by making her look as much like Amanda as possible. This, in combination with Shay’s interest in Amanda’s life, her appearance at Amanda’s funeral and former place of work, and the fact that she moved into Amanda’s old apartment, will make it appear as though Shay wants to be Amanda. The self-confidence the makeover provides Shay also further indebts her to the sisters, with Shay failing to realize that she is allowing someone else to shape her identity for her.
Shay also receives a handbag filled with items from Cassandra and Jane. The bag and the items are things that Amanda owned, enabling the sisters to further their scheme. It is only when Shay realizes she is being framed that she starts to reclaim her identity and appearance on her own terms, with her rejection of the sisters’ manipulation signaling her growing self-awareness and self-esteem.
The Bloody Towel and Scalpel
Amanda hides a bloody towel and scalpel, evidence of the circle’s murder of James Anders, in her mailbox before she dies by suicide. The towel and scalpel symbolize Amanda’s guilt and inability to kill in cold blood, and Cassandra and Jane’s willingness to manipulate and frame Shay. The towel and scalpel thus symbolize The Dangers of Manipulation and Revenge and the pitfalls of vigilante justice.
All of the circle participate in James’s murder, but Amanda has a particularly large role in the crime: She steals morphine to sedate James during the attack and she lures him into the park. She is also the sole member of the group to object to his murder. Although the other women are happy to kill James, Amanda balks. She runs off with the scalpel and towel, refuses to speak with the other women in the wake of the crime, and plans to go to the police before she is driven to death by suicide by Valerie. The scalpel and bloody towel here represent the gulf between Amanda and the rest of the group members: She is the only one to demonstrate personal ethics and the only one to object to vigilantism.
When Cassandra and Jane realize that Shay is now in possession of the scalpel and bloody towel, they drug her and use the objects to frame her for James’s murder. Here again the towel and scalpel function symbolically: Now they illustrate Cassandra and Jane’s lack of ethics, their highly manipulative nature, and their willingness to frame an innocent person. Ultimately, the towel and scalpel become evidence against them and the other women in the circle, turning their schemes for revenge against them.
Shay’s Data Notebook
Shay carries a small notebook in which she habitually writes down pieces of data that interest her. She records statistics relevant to current hobbies and projects, bits of information about New York, the results of various studies, and detailed reminiscences about the people she meets. This notebook, although characterized as “creepy” by Jody, symbolizes Shay’s intellect, keen head for figures, and intelligence. As such, it becomes a symbol of The Importance of Self-Esteem: Shay is a highly intelligent character, but she is initially too insecure to realize her own potential.
When it becomes clear that the Moore sisters are framing Shay for some sort of crime, she turns to information gathering and data analysis to figure out the mystery. The bits and pieces of information Shay recorded about her interactions with the Moore sisters now allow her to unlock a treasure trove of information, and her researching prowess helps her to figure out who the Moore sisters really are and what they are trying to frame Shay for.
The data notebook thus becomes the key to Shay’s success in all of these endeavors, and it additionally teaches Shay how intelligent and capable she really is. She emerges at the end of the novel not a figure of insecurity, but one of agency and power.
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