Expression
Mandisa tracks other's expressions in order to describe their mental states. A key instance of this occurs when she returns home from work. Siziwe knows that her brother has killed Amy long before Mandisa is ready to admit it to herself. No matter what she knows, she will not be the one to admit it to her mother. This causes her to act strangely upon her mother's arrival from work: "Siziwe gave me such a look as would be hard to describe. A disquieting look. A cheeky look? But then again, an I'm sorry for you look" (33) Mandisa can sense that her daughter knows something, but she is in denial about what Siziwe is communicating with her expression.
The view on the drive home
Mandisa uses imagery when describing the sky over the township on many different occasions. She does so in order to provide situational irony, as the sky often reflects a mood much different than her own. One example comes from her ride home from work on the day of the murder: "Not a cloud in sight. The tight-stretched blue dome above looks down pityingly as the sun boasts... Low down in the far west, where the sky reaches down to kiss the earth, furious reds and golden yellows mingle and marry and striate the horizon, eye-blinding spectacle" (30).
All that waits for Mandisa at home is heartbreak. The beautiful views on her way home are a brief reprise in the chaos. She is able to find beauty in the township that has caused the downfall of her family.
Bouvlei
Vivid descriptions of Bouvlei depict Mandisa's homesicknesses for the place she will never see again. These segments read like cherished memories that have been replayed over and over in her mind. Of the homes in Bouvlei, she writes, "The sea of tin shacks lying lazily in the flats, surrounded by gentle white hills, sandy hills dotted with scrub, gave us (all of us, parents and children alike) such a fantastic sense of security we could not conceive of its ever ceasing to exist" (42). Although they lived in a very poor rural area, those in Mandisa's community were proud of their township.
Emotional States
Mandisa often uses people's emotional states to reflect upon their situation. After the police raid, Mandisa must help her family cope with the terror that they brought with them. Siziwe, in particular, is shaken by the encounter: "Eyes big and round, pushed out as those of a tadpole in a drying ditch... Elbows to knees, she crouched and from deep down her throat came this panicky cooing of a frightened dove. No lifting upward trill. Just a deep growl, a trembly sigh, filled with blind despair. On and on and on the terrible wrawl, shoulders heaving horribly" (117). Comparing Siziwe to an animal emphasizes how instances of terror like this once threaten people's humanity. All higher thought abandons them, and they are left to their most primal instincts.
