Dalton's Playground
At the age of three, Dalton "kidnaps" a baby by pushing someone else's carriage over to his mom, "across the shards of broken green and brown malt liquor bottles that littered the concrete." This image illustrates how run-down and dangerous the neighborhood is, as the liquor bottles indicate drunk tenants who do not care about the environment or the safety of children. It is interesting that Dalton does not add any critical side-note here, which indicates that he considered the garbage a normal feature of the playground.
Graffiti
Describing his neighborhood, Dalton recounts that "anything that passed through our neighborhood got covered in graffiti." What really bothers him about this image is that while crime or family dramas are usually kept hidden, the graffiti is found in the open; moreover, it is found in the most prominent spots, as sprayers keep expanding their territory and showing off their audacity. Since Dalton considers graffiti a representation of poverty, he is embarrassed when he brings friends home from other areas of the city: "It was four-color, in-your-face poverty."
The Orphan
Describing a German orphan who survived the Holocaust, Dalton says that "He would crane his sinewy neck over the table and lift the plate to his lips, shoveling as fast as he could with a hand cupped to form a human backhoe." This image hints at the cruel history of the child dominated by hunger and the fear of possessions being taken away.
Michael's House
When Dalton visits Michael and his family, he notices that "the ceilings in their home were the
height of a cathedral and had exposed beams and a skylight." By painting an image of a church, he emphasizes how impressed he was by the size of the apartment. The description of the skylight connotes that he feels close to heaven.
