I know how Bee felt when her father betrayed her. “Dad took a breath and said, ‘The only true thing is now you’ve read things you’re not old enough to possibly understand’” (Semple 261). Bee’s father Elgin acted like Bernadette was gone forever, and that Bee was too young to know what was going on. In her eyes her father was moving on and pretending everything was normal when nothing was. Elgin tried proving to Bee that Bernadette may have “accidentally” fallen overboard and there was no way Bernadette could survive in Antarctica. Bee couldn’t believe him, and she knew in her heart that her mother couldn’t just leave her motherless. Therefore, Bee planned to search for her. There was a moment when Bee felt hopeless and I cried. Bee was super upset at her father, but forgave him after a couple deep conversations that motivated her father to help her in the search. In the end Bee found her mom. This part of the story reminded me of when my uncle pretended to be okay and my parents didn’t tell me he had cancer. I was eleven and I believed I was old enough to know the truth, so I eavesdropped and snooped around the house listening to my parents conversations until I heard it. I confronted my parents about it, and got very quiet and sad. That’s when I felt hopeless, but then my family was there to comfort me and help me understand what was happening. My uncle took me on a few trips to travel with him and then he told me he didn’t want me to see him anymore. I told him I’d be there for him and that he won’t spend any day alone. I didn’t give up on him, prayed he’d be strong enough to get through it, and hoped that chemo radiation therapy would work. We watched TV, read comics, played video games etc. When he passed away I didn’t want to forgive my parents for not telling me sooner, but with time I did. 

As readers we can make the connection between Seattle and Bernadette by analyzing how Bernadette’s mental state and personality is similar to her surroundings. First she chose Straight Gate as her home because she saw the opportunity to build and renovate. Bernadette is a smart witty woman around those she’s comfortable with. She’s an architect and a very nontraditional housewife. She was constantly internally struggling to let go of her past throughout this whole book until the end when she finally had a change of mindset/heart. Therefore, Bernadette never improved her home or herself showing a lack of resilience. Their home Straight Gate is pretty much a house falling apart and sinking into the hill. Their home reflects Bernadette's crumbling passion for architecture and how she and her husband don’t have the healthiest of relationships. Over the years she became like Seattle weather. Sometimes dark gray and dreary absorbed in her little bubble or sometimes more busy with imaginative grand ideas yet still too comfortable to ever leave her comfort zone. She grew comfortable just being there and the motivation in her was hard to find at times, so she accepted that she was who she was. Seattle was technologically making advancements and changing, but she wouldn’t reach her change or improvement in character until her quick personal escape to Antarctica. In Antarctica Bernadette realized a lot about herself and that she wanted to be better for Bee. She knew she needed to go back to being the passionate and inspiring young woman she once was.  

One more thing the author may have used this symbol for is the atmosphere Seattle creates for Elgin (Bernadette’s husband) and his sudden change. Elgin has multiple gadgets and is technologically inclined. Elgin is a man high up the ranks in Microsoft and he leads a big project called Samantha 2. He sees more of what he wants in his secretary Soo-Lin than his wife. It was easier to like his secretary because he easily communicated better with her and spent time with her daily. Elgin has always felt it was hard talking to Bernadette, and although he tries he’s almost always never home. Seattle’s tech environment for him was his passion so he was constantly with the flow and very busy. When he realized his wife was in need of emotional help he took time off and did all he could to help, but Bernadette didn’t want his help because she had already accepted who she was. Elgin realized he wants to be there more for his family and he in the end believes in his daughter. Bernadette felt pressure from his sudden actions to be there for her and he was going to send her away to a mental institute to get help for a small amount of time, so she escaped to Antarctica in fear but then it turned into an opportunity to find out who she truly wants to be. 

By getting out of Seattle and going to Antarctica, Bee retraced her mother’s steps and searched for her after investigating why her mother left her. She convinced her father to help too and forgave him for not always being there for their small family. Bee was able to understand her mother’s decisions in the end and still loved her mother no matter how imperfect she was. The author used Seattle and the home Straight Gate as a symbol of Bernadette’s lack of resilience and how it takes the internal changes within a person in order to reach who they want to become.