Nashville in the 1950s
The scenery of Tennessee in the 1950's is quaint and quite lovely to Tricia. She loves Nashville and enjoys her identity as a citizen there, but that experience is darkened because of the powerful racist narratives that have many people in her community fooled. Some people think stupid things about race, and so Tricia's experience of Nashville is limited to only the parts of town where there aren't signs that say, "For Whites Only." Segregation makes Nashville a complicated, sad place.
Racial prejudice
Tricia is perceived through the lens of imagery in two ways. There are the racists, whose perception is clouded by hateful assumptions about Tricia based on her skin color and ethnicity, and there are the non-racists, who treat her with honor and dignity. From her dual experience of her community, she learns by contrast how to treat people: with honor and dignity. She learns that she is worthy of honor and respect, regardless of what racist beliefs are popular in her community.
Positivity and negativity
There are people in Tricias community on both sides of the optimist-pessimist spectrum. Throughout her journey across town, she encounters many disturbing issues. There are Jim Crow signs around town, and the signs of segregation clearly divide her freedom in half, and yet the wise old man encourages her to hold her head up high. On the bus, a passenger in the back where she has to sit encourages her to stay proud of herself. By being optimistic about herself, she immunizes herself from the hatred around her.
Education as an equalizer
Obviously, the library is a symbol in the novel for hope and equality, because after all, a lot of the racist propaganda and ideology that afflicts Tricia has to do with Black people being inherently less intelligent than White people. In a library, that hateful idea is clearly seen as a lie, because Tricia absorbs information with an intelligence and curiosity that is absolutely human. By expanding her mind, she learns her potential as a person, and she gains freedom from the brokenness of her everyday life in a racist society.
