Shaymus's perspective is influenced by his mother's cognitive dissonance about how he perceives the world. Her father rented “The Breakers” cabin online, and the photos online were much more attractive than the real thing. Shaymus knew that in reality the depiction of the house was misleading. He noted that “a picture may be worth a thousand words, but they may be nothing but lies” (3). On the other hand, the mother deludes herself into thinking that “she loves them because they remind her of the house she lived in.” This illusion also reflects the idea of ​​the happy apparitions of the Walsh family. Like the photos online, they try to fake a happy family, but in reality they are dysfunctional at best. The author presents to readers that this is a significant illusion and that there is more beneath the surface where one's reality collides with another's.