Arsenic and Adobo

The statue of Lila’s dachshund is a symbol whose meaning changes throughout the narrative. Terrence tells Lila that Janet made this statue and was planning on giving it to her. The statue initially represents a peace offering following the women’s fight about Terrence, embodying the potential for healing and closure in strained relationships. However, the dog statue quickly becomes a symbol of violence and mystery. Janet is assaulted before she can give it to Lila. Lila asks Detective Park if he found the “statue of a dog” at the crime scene (286), but he is unaware of it.

Kevin, who assaulted Janet, took the statue and put it in the backroom of Java Jo’s to hide his guilt. During the climax of the story, Adeena “[throws] the statue at him but he [dodges] it” (288). She tries to use the dog statue as a weapon but fails. Lila is successful in hitting Kevin with the statue, and the statue becomes a symbol of victory over Kevin. The symbolic trifecta of reconciliation, violence, and triumph mirrors Lila’s character arc throughout the narrative, though in a different order: While her time in Shady Palms begins with violence, including her fiancé’s infidelity and Derek’s murder, she eventually reconciles strained relationships with family and friends and successfully solves the murder to clear her family’s name.