The metaphor of the poor mother
The metaphor shows the mother's inability to refuse to obey the narrator's demands. When the narrator starts writing, the only audience is her mother, who must read what she writes. The narrator says, "I was also an early writer, and when I began to write, at about the age of seven, stories in pencil with crayon illustrations that my poor mother was obligated to read." The metaphor in the context is significant because it shows that even a strong and able person can be compelled to do things she doesn’t want. After all, she doesn't have an option.
Kinky hair
The kinky hair is a metaphor that represents the narrator's natural self and ability. The narrator says, "I realized that people like me, girls with skin the colour of chocolate, whose kinky hair could not form ponytails, could also exist in literature. I started to write about things I recognized." The metaphor shows the narrator's confidence to do things other people consider impossible. Throughout her childhood, the narrator thought writing was preserved for the white-skinned girls whose hair forms ponytails.
Comparison of Fide’s family to nothing
Every time the narrator fails to finish her food, her mother uses Fade as an example to remind her that some people are sleeping hungry. The narrator's mother says, "Finish your food! Don’t you know? People like Fide's family have nothing." The simile is paramount in the text because it reminds the narrator that she is a privileged kid, unlike Fide, who comes from a poverty-stricken family that cannot afford meals.
