Paradise imagery
The imagery of India, when viewed through the lens of time, seems nearly mythic to Alexander. She writes about memories that she knows are technically true and literal, but which also seem sublime and impossible. She remembers her place of origin, the family home where she was born and raised, which she sometimes visited even after moving to Sudan. In particular, there is one image that helps her define her feelings for home, the memory of her father smiling in his garden of mango and cashew trees. The memory of paradise in a garden has mythic overtones.
Clothing and Sudan
In Sudan, Alexander remembers how different the culture was. Suddenly, people dressed very differently from what she was used to, and that put her in a crisis of self. Should she dress the way she always had, or should she adopt a look more close to her new cultural surroundings? The question is instinctual on one level, because she is trying to adapt to new changes in her life, but also, it is abstract, because she appreciates her identity the way it was built, and she resists seeing it change.
Family and marriage
For Meena, life is inseparable from family. Throughout her childhood, she is defined by her role as a first sibling, and she reflects in the memoir on her deep love for her parents and grandparents. Clearly, she views her community as an extension of that familial love, which is why the sudden change of community that moving brings is so unusual and at times confusing and painful. Ultimately, this imagery culminates in her own marriage and in the births of her own children.
Manhattan imagery
The final imagery of the book is the one with which the memoirist begins her book. Having moved from India to Sudan to England, Meena Alexander finally ended up in Manhattan. The imagery of New York City is shown in beautiful language as the bedrock for her attempt at memoir. She starts the memoir with a portrait of her desire to write such a book; she tells about her pitching this book to an editor in a cafe in Manhattan.
