Summary

The speaker (the narrator) in “Stability in Motion” by Marina Keegan describes her Toyota Camry and her relationship with it. The car was purchased by her grandmother in 1990 and is given to the speaker when she is 16 years old, after her grandfather dies. While the grandmother kept the car clean and ordered, the speaker has a different relationship with it.

Gradually, the car gets filled with her things. The speaker leaves all sorts of things in the car, including empty cans and food containers, clothes, newspapers, books, coffee mugs, etc. Soon the car becomes an extension of the speaker herself. It has two bumpers stickers, one against Republicans and one supporting Obama, but the latter is removed because the speaker’s parents argue that it blocks the sight lines. The trunk is filled with the speaker’s guitar, books, and Harry Potter cassettes. The speaker usually spends about two hours ...