Cranes

Cranes symbolize the devastatingly destructive socioeconomic effects of new construction when minority communities are gentrified. Though cranes are typically considered tools of construction, a process and industry named for the process of building, the machines' purpose is to tear down structures and relocate debris on construction sites. This destruction and removal of building materials represents the forced evacuation of Black people from historically Black communities after new construction either swindles property from its rightful owners or prices marginalized people out of their own real estate.

Castles

Sydney recalls a moment when she thought of her home on Gifford Place as a castle, an impenetrable fortress in which her mother kept her safe. In this vision, Sydney was a princess overseeing the neighborhood; however, Sydney’s impression of her home becomes distorted throughout the novel. First, a sympathetic East Asian woman describes Terry’s house as a...