The photo (allegory)
The old family photo is an allegory of the past. There is a picture of Zadie’s father and her, “Christmas 1980 or thereabouts.” It is “an original,” Zadie has “no negative,” yet she allowed it to sit for months “in a pile of mail” on her open windowsill. Finally, the photo “got soaked,” “imprinted with text of phone bills and Post-it notes.” The strange thing is that she doesn’t feel upset about it; on the contrary, the woman “felt weird relief” that comes from knowing that “the inevitable destruction of precious things, though done in your house, was not done by your hand.” She is happy to get rid of “heavy stuff” that this photo represents.
Clothing (symbol)
Beautiful clothing is a symbol of prosperity and success. While waiting for her plane to Liberia, Zadie observes other passengers – mostly Africans – who are “dressed as if for church.” “Formal hats, zirconias and Louis Vuitton holdalls” are very “popular.” Even a toddler “waddles down the aisle in a three-piece suit” and “bow tie.” The funniest thing is that only “non-Africans” are dressed for “Africa” in “khakis, sandals, wrinkled T-shirts.” One man tells Zadie that all those glamorous suits are the only one way people can live up to an idea of being rich.
Motif of poverty
Living below “poverty line” is one of the main motifs. Though Zadie Smith is English and has rarely seen “the life below poverty line” before Liberia, this short visit to this beautiful, but stagnating country has affected her greatly. She sees what it means to live on “one U.S. dollar a day,” she sees “destroyed infrastructure: roads, ports, municipal electricity, water, sanitation, schools, hospitals.” “All desperately lacking or nonexistent.” “Eighty-six percent” of population is unemployed, “no street lights.” People have to live in “small huts made of mud bricks.” Though the scenery is so depressing, there are enthusiasts who don’t give up on this country, who are ready to work for free for mutual benefit. This is a story about power of the human spirit.
