Peanuts
The central controlling imagery of the book is the peanut. Or, more specifically, peanuts. The defining assignment given to her students by Ms. Gruwell is simply to describe both the exterior and interior of a peanut. The deceptively simplistic profound lesson to be gleaned from this assignment is that one should not judge the nut based on its shell. Or, in other words, one should not judge people by what they look like.
Inside the Shells
Metaphorically speaking, the imagery of the peanut assignment plays out in various ways through personal anecdotes that are often seamlessly integrated into the diaries. For instance, the memory quoted above about the KKK cross burning is inextricably linked without visible borders of divergence to that student watching a film about the atrocities of the Holocaust. Likewise, the student in this example begins an entry writing about his diary being read by the U.S. Secretary of Education which bleeds without transitional effects into the imagery of a very specific and personal memory from his own history:
“We were just driving on the freeway when a car full of Mexicans drove up next to us. All of a sudden I saw sparks flying, glass shattering, and blood splattering. A bullet actually ricocheted all through the car. Another bullet went through the backseat of the car and grazed my friend in the back. My brother, who was driving, was shot four times. Twice in his chest, inches from his heart, once in his thigh, and once in his calf.”
Butler Elementary School
One particular student displays a genuine flair for pure descriptive imagery in depicting an elementary school located in a very rough part of town. After first setting things up with a metaphorical comparison the imagery becomes more grounded in reality and all the more powerful because of it:
“These children are like lotus plants. A lotus flower doesn’t grow in a swimming pool, but grows in a muddy pond…Butler is located by the most dangerous, gang-infested park in Long Beach…there’s a liquor store next to a small plaza. The school building is fenced in. It is a dull, drab, ash gray; it looks very old, even though it was built several years ago. In front of the school are houses with graffiti and barred windows. At night it is unsafe to walk around because of the gang activities near the area. Most of these children live near the school and have witnessed a driveby shooting by the age of ten.”
