Dada
One of the most significant instances of reoccurring imagery in the text has to do with dada. Children who are born with dada in the Ooni region of the planet Ginen where the story takes place become instant outcasts because of widespread belief in ancient legends linking them to witchcraft. The prologue barely gets underway before imagery is utilized to instantly make the details of dada clear. “I had dadalocks, and woven inside each one of those clumps was a skinny, light green vine. Contrary to what a lot of people think, these vines didn’t sprout directly from my head. Instead, they were more like plants that had attached themselves to my hair as I grew inside my mother’s womb. Imagine that! To be born with vines growing in your hair!” The imagery is effective at immediately conveying the obvious alien environment in which the story takes place. At the very same time, the imagery is also strangely familiar because of the tenuous similarity of “dadalocks” to dreadlocks.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
The life of a dada kid is not the smoothest life possible. The visual image presented by what is described above is a guarantee of mean-spirted bullying, even on this world in a galaxy far away. Some things, the novel argues, truly are universal. And so Zahrah, the narrator, is subject to taunts based on her physical appearance. The imagery paints a portrait of the dark side of dada:" "`Vine head,' `snake lady,' `swamp witch,' and `freak' were names I heard almost every day.” It has been suggested that darkness cannot exist without light, and fortunately Zahrah is also exposed to imagery which situates the very same physical attributes in a positive way by Papa Grip. “Like the vines that grow in the trees. Like dangerous serpents! Wild and rebellious.” The duality of the distinctive physical manifestation of dada is explored from perspectives not associated with appearances in other sections of the story.
Jungle Life
The habitat that Zahrah calls home is dominated by thick green jungles made all the more tempting by virtue of being forbidden. Which means, naturally, that eventually the story follows her into the forbidden zone. Jungle life creates multiple opportunities for imagery describing the strange creatures living there. “I saw black-and-white, long-limbed spider monkeys, frowning day owls, huge snails that sucked the bark and moss from trees, oily black spiders fat with venom, papery-skinned chameleons, fire ants that glowed orange with poison, anteaters that fed on the fire ants and breathed out smoke after each meal, black honeypot ants with bulbous behinds and long, thick antennae, grasshoppers the size of my hand.” What is important to keep in mind is that these creatures are as bizarre and disturbing to Zahrah as they are to the reader. This is atypical for genres like fantasy and science fiction and others that takes place within entirely created worlds.
Deep Thought and the Smurfs
Although this story takes place on an alien planet, there is evidence that its inhabitants are not completely ignorant of the rest of the universe. Earth is specifically mentioned as a mythical place, and definitive proof of its existence is lacking. More indirect evidence of familiarity with other worlds and civilization is allusively offered through amusingly cheeky referential imagery connecting to two of pop culture’s most well-known entertainment brands: “Let me guess…Like every other human explorer I’ve met, you want to know the meaning of life…The answer is forty-four. That machine was off by two…Believe me, it makes a world of difference.” This passage references the infamous response delivered by super-computer Deep Thought after seven million years spent calculating the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything as being “42.” Referencing the Douglas Adams novel in which this event is described is particularly clever since Zahrah possesses an encyclopedia not terribly unlike The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Universe. By contrast, when Zahrah recollects how her “old grandmother once told me…there were little blue men three apples high who lived in the mushrooms that grew in our backyard” the imagery of The Smurfs it references is just plain fun. Beyond that, it may also stimulate a young reader to imagine connections between worlds not currently known to be possible.
