Gray suit

Amal's gray suit represents his knowledge of the racial bias present in the criminal justice system. He wears the suit primarily because his mother wants him to look professional during the trial, but he cannot help feeling as though the grey is method of tempering his blackness to make him less threatening to the jury.

Sun

In the novel, the sun is a symbol of rebirth and new life. After Amal is incarcerated, he struggles to sleep and finds only terror in the silence and darkness of nightfall. The sun helps Amal to find a small measure of hope in each new day, inspiring him to continue pursuing his art as a form of coping and therapy.

Water

Water puts Amal in a state of terror and panic throughout the novel, and water thereby symbolizes fear in the novel. Amal is consistently confronted by the...