<span>The use of allusion in the title and epigraph of Nectar in a Sieve helps to emphasize the novel’s themes of loss and hope
Nectar in a Sieve alludes to the slow drain of the life force of an individual here on earth. The nectar represents live and the sieve, since it is a sifter/filter, slowly drains the nectar until it falls to the ground and become useless.
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<span>While I was changing my shirt, I d**n near gave my kid sister Phoebe a buzz, though. I certainly felt like talking to her on the phone. Somebody with sense and all. But I couldn't take a chance on giving her a buzz, because she was only a little kid and she wouldn't have been up, let alone anywhere near the phone. I thought of maybe hanging up if my parents answered, but that wouldn't've worked, either. They'd know it was me. My mother always knows it's me. She's psychic. But I certainly wouldn't have minded shooting the cr*p with old Phoebe for a while.</span>
