The Idealism of Young Shirley
As a young schoolteacher at Peckham, Shirley says in a faculty meeting, “I believe in making society more equal for our kids...[who] have been told they're failures, thick, as you put it, before they've proven otherwise...we have to be more than teachers, we have to look after them, believe in them if we don’t help them, who will.” By first painting the picture of young students being discouraged and labeled "failures" or "thick," Shirley asks the other teachers to reconsider the language they use to label their students. Then, Shirley continues to use imagery to bolster her argument: she asks the other teachers to envision a new and better society, one where teachers support and nurture students, rather than tear them down with words.
Family Reunion in Barbados
"Winsome is preparing a family favorite of roast breadfruit, fried flying fish seasoned with onion and thyme, and a side of grilled yellow squash, eggplant, zucchini and pan-roasted mushrooms with a herb-lemon sauce / as the sea air breezes into the kitchen through the mosquito meshes that stop the flies invading in the daytime and the mozzies at night": Winsome's vignette begins like this. The passage is filled with rich descriptions of food prepared in myriad ways—roasted, fried, seasoned—and with the image of a calm island home, through which tropical breezes pass through and mosquito nets prevent bugs from entering. This imagery helps set the scene for Winsome's life.
The Gaping Chasm Within
When we meet young Penelope, she has recently found out that she is adopted. As a result, she begins to feel as if she carries a "gaping, aching chasm...inside her" which can only be filled if she "marr[ies] a man who idolize[s] her, become[s] a teacher and ha[s] children". Finding out about her adoption makes Penelope question who she is and leaves her feeling unanchored to other people, including her adoptive parents. The image of a gaping chasm in her communicates the sort of emptiness and lack of tetheredness that she feels.
Hair Matted into Clumps
When Daisy tells Grace about how she raised her as an infant, she also tells the story of Ernest, the son of another single mother, Ruby, who had been impregnated and left by a visiting sailor. Daisy "washed [Grace] every day...until...the lovely little curls on [her] head shone like dewdrops." In contrast, "Ruby was often out late" so that "poor Ernest's hair was matted into clumps." These two contrasting images of washed hair so clean that it shines and dirty hair so soiled that it becomes tangled help highlight the love and care that Daisy put into parenting Grace (and the lack of care that Ruby put into Ernest).
