Visit+to+the+White+House

Liam and Abhinav

Separation between black girls and white house:
 * Introduction: “way over by the lake” (103). Immediate impression of distance and segregation is created, separating the black girls from the beautiful, white house. “We can’t go all the way to the lake” (104); the lake represents wealth and superiority.
 * “The streets changed; houses looked more sturdy, their paint was newer, porch posts straighter, yards deeper” (105). The girls recognize the stark contrast between their home and those of the rich white folk.
 * “No sign of life” (105). Further creates distance between the girls and the white upper class, and shows how the upper class tries to avoid interacting with the girls.
 * “White porcelain, white woodwork, (…)white swinging door” (107-108). The emphasis on the colour white contributes to the contrast between the black girls and the home through visual imagery. However, Mrs. Breedlove who is allowed in the house, fits in somewhat more comfortably: “[her] skin glowed like taffeta in the reflection of white porcelain” (107).
 * “The walkway was flagged in calculated disorder, hiding the cunning symmetry” (106). The “disorder” of the white house still seems very perfect to Claudia, and Claudia is thrown off by how even a semblance of disorder in the white house seems well thought out and clever.

This separation contributes to the girls’ fear and insecurity about the white house:
 * “Only fear of discovery and the knowledge that we did not belong kept us from loitering” (106). The girls feel out of their element, and very exposed outside of the house that seems to perfect.
 * The girls have also just been shaken emotionally by the Maginot Line throwing a bottle at them, and therefore feel more vulnerable. The Maginot Line’s dirtiness also contrasts with the prettiness of the houses that the girls see immediately afterwards.
 * “We circled the proud house and went to the back” (106). Like animals, the girls circle the house in confusion and anxiety.