Islamic cultural imagery
For Amal, life was plainly Islamic in flavor. Her aesthetic experience was so drenched in the interior decor of Muslim families, the cultural importance of her faith, the unimaginable beauty of Muslim places of worship, and the streets of Palestine. This imagery is the root of Amal's life. It comes into focus more clearly when they move and she is asked to fit into a cultural that is not like her own. Suddenly, the passive experience of being part of the majority culture changes, and she is left unique, a pillar of her culture in a sea of different beliefs.
Christian and Australian culture
Her experience of Australian life was a far cry from what she knew from her past and her family. The Catholic school from her elementary days is a brilliant depiction of this imagery. The church behind that school has radically different aesthetics than Islam, and Australian buildings and communities literally look drastically different. This is the concrete imagery of a cultural exchange that has abstract qualities as well, especially in the commonly held cultural ideas of the new majority.
The uniqueness of self
Whether she is at home or at school, Amal knows she is particular and unique. She is kind of like her parents, because she is made from them, and she is derived spiritually and religiously from their education and cultural inheritance, and she deeply honors that inheritance. Then again, she is unique from them, because she has her own name (her name is a recurring symbol, pointing to this imagery), and she has much in common with the other kids her age. At school, she is very clearly unique, like a sore thumb she sometimes feels.
The group experience
The experience of homogeny and the "group" experience are imagery in this novel. Sometimes they are experienced negatively; Amal doesn't feel part of the group and often desires the experience of fitting in that she does not get to enjoy often, and sometimes they are experienced positively; after a while, she does make good friends, and the cultural difference between her and her friends are sometimes celebrated in a non-exclusive way. She can indeed be part of a group with those who are different than her. She does it every day at home in the community that her family preserves so carefully.
