Metaphor for freedom
One of the center metaphors in the novel are the wings Handful’s mother mentions time and time again. According to the mother, blacks used to have winds and were able to fly when they lived back in their own land. When the white men came and took them away, they took their wings as well. Handful dreams of the day she will take her wings back and in this context the wings are used as a metaphor for freedom.
Silver button
The silver button Sarah took from one of her clothes after she was told that Handful will be her slave is important because it represents her decision to do everything she can to free the slaves. While she is unable to free Handful, she does not give up on her dream and the silver button is used here as a metaphor to suggest Sarah’s unwillingness to give up on her dreams.
Baby owl
One day, while Sarah was looking for Handful, she stopped to talk with Charlotte in the yard. Charlotte showed Sarah a baby owl she was holding. Charlotte compared the baby owl to Handful and told Sarah that Handful was just like the baby owl. Through this comparison, Charlotte wanted to highlight the idea that Handful had to be protected and taken care of and that Charlotte was the one responsible for Handful now. The comparison also has the purpose of showing just how vulnerable the slaves were and the power their masters had over them.
Metaphor for avoidance
Sarah is a member of a wealthy family but she has to deal with a stammer that makes it difficult for her to communicate with another person. At the beginning of the novel, Sarah notes happily that she did not stammer in the last few months and that she hopes that it will never appear again. However, when Charlotte asks Sarah about her promise to take care of Handful, Sarah faked her stammer to avoid answering to the question. The stammer is thus an avoidance technique used by her to avid the things making her uncomfortable.
Metaphor for rebellion
Before Easter, the mistress of the house found that someone had stolen an expensive fabric from the house. The mistress promised to forgive the person who stole it if they agree to come forward and confess but no one does it. It is later revealed that Charlotte was the one who stole the fabric. When Handful asked her mother why she stole the fabric, she had no real answer, just that she wanted to rebel in some way. The act of stealing the fabric is thus seen as a metaphor for rebellion.
