Stella

The teeter-totter that Cloe encourages Stella to walk on symbolizes Stella’s fear and trauma. When Stella first arrives at Esperanza and Cloe’s house, she is terrified of the teeter-totter. This is because it makes a loud noise when it falls to the ground, reminding her of the traumatic explosion at the airport. She is so scared that she has to curl up with Cloe for comfort. Cloe does not push Stella farther than she can handle, but she does encourage her to face her fears. The primary way she does this is with the teeter-totter. She uses treats to slowly encourage the dog to go farther on the teeter-totter. At one point, she convinces Stella to get all four legs on the teeter-totter, but then Stella panics. Cloe understands this and does not want to further traumatize Cloe so she holds the teeter-totter so it will not make a loud noise, and then she lifts Stella off and comforts her. After Stella saves Cloe from the fire, Stella has much more confidence. It is at this point that she finally overcomes her fear and walks all the way across the teeter-totter.

The choice to use a teeter-totter to represent Stella’s fears is significant because it mirrors the way Cloe bonds with Stella.