Residential Schools
Author Michelle Good often describes the residential schools each of the novel's five main characters went to with painstaking, brutal imagery. Good often describes the schools with human-like terms, comparing them to bad actors and those who enjoy doing harm to other people. Additionally, Good paints a less-than-flattering picture of the schools, showing them to be evil, morally reprehensible institutions that haven't done any good in the world.
The Environment of Residential Schools
Additionally, Good uses intense imagery to paint a vivid picture of the environment inside residential schools. Good describes the residential schools as being intense, repressive, and alienating. The main characters of the novel, as well as other Aboriginal people in Canada, were forced to attend the schools, where they were brainwashed and forced (because of the aforementioned environment) to forget their culture and adapt to the culture of white people.
Memories
Flashbacks and memories are often depicted with rich, sensory detail. The smells, sounds, and sights the characters in the novel have experienced are vividly recalled, illustrating how deeply ingrained past experiences have been in the character's lives and their attempts to heal from past trauma caused by racism and residential schools.
Healing and finding inner peace
Good frequently uses imagery related to healing and finding inner peace to underscore the transformative effect the characters' soul-searching is having on their lives. For instance, Good uses positive, helpful language when describing Clara's experiences contending with her own trauma and her later experiences in the United States, where she learned to accept herself and her culture.
