The blind father
When Minisha looks around for help, she quickly realizes that her community is limited. In addition, her sister is such a social gal that she easily makes friends, which just leaves Minisha feeling depressed and doubting herself. Her father is a symbol for this self-doubt because he shares her self-doubt and depression, dating girls over and over again to fill the void of his own respect. When he finally realizes how desperate his daughter is, his fatherly nature kicks in and he fulfills his obligation. His journey toward responsibility is a subtle reminder of Minisha's own journey toward accepting responsibility for self-love.
Race and body
Race is a motif in this novel, because Minisha is an outcast in her community because she is used to fitting in with white people. Through the motif, Minisha's repeated experiences of her community show why she is frustrated; she is the kind of person who mimics her community, but when she tries to absorb her community, she feels awkward, knowing that she isn't black enough to adopt the personality of those around her. This dilemma makes her feel a kind of detachment from her body, because her body is getting in her way. The motif is complete when she loves her body for her success at swim.
The symbolic failure
An interesting moment in the novel occurs when Minisha realizes that she can succeed in her goal of swimming to the island. It is the climax of the novel, and Minisha decides to forfeit her goal to save her father's life. The symbol is bittersweet; on the positive side, she has obviously found the self-love and respect that it takes to not have anything to prove; on the negative side, the symbol suggests that in a way, her father held her back in life.
The absent mother
The father goes on a journey from selfishness to parental responsibility, and it is very easy to judge him for being selfish and personal about his life, but then again, at least he's with the kids supporting them. The mother is symbolically absent from the girls' lives. A skillful mother could have helped Minisha with the social issues she faced at school, so her struggle with popularity is a symbolic reminder that she struggles with self-esteem—the product of abandonment, perhaps.
Swimming and allegory
Minisha's story is not about swimming. Rather, she finds swimming after much of the novel has passed, and her journey with swim can be seen as an allegory that moves her from point A to point B. She starts in a position of hopelessness and moves to a future of hope, all by understanding how proud she can become of herself for her growing skill. By finding something to do with her time, she finds a community, and she practices and succeeds at a task, giving her feelings of accomplishment. The allegory ends with her forfeiting her goal so her father is safe. She has enough security that she doesn't feel she has to prove anything.
