Are These Actual Miles - quote response

*Page 584:
"Leo has an urge to cry out a confession."
~ The narrator says this about Leo because he is remembering an occurance of last winter when he had brought another woman home while his wife and kids were away. The way the narrator shows how guilty Leo is feeling that the time proves that he really does love his wife even though he cheated on her.


*Page 590:
"They run everywhere in her flesh, dozens, perhaps hundreds of them. He remembers waking up the morning after they bought the car, seeing it, there in the drive, in the sun, gleaming."
~ In this quote the narrator is implying that Leo is stroking and thinking about his wife, Tony's, stretch marks. This in a sense is used as a metaphor because Leo is remembering when they first bought the car, which was a convertible. This is a nice, gleamy, new car. Perhaps he is remembering when he first met his wife? The way he describes Tony's body is that she is now all old, used up, and stretched out. The fact that he cheated on her symbolizes all of the miles that he and his wife have gone. Too many miles on an old car add up and the result is getting a new car with less miles. Maybe the woman he cheated on his wife was liek that new car? The first quote leads to how he feels awful about the cheating and this quote shows that he actually loved that car. The tie between the two seem to be that he loved both his wife and the car, but when he felt that they were old, he needed something new and enticing. When he starts to touch his wife's aged body and recalls the first day withthe convertible it shows his true compassion. The end of the story lead up to the symbolism and methaphorical meaning behind the title.