It was pertinent for Millie to leave London in order to escape the horrors of paparazzi and tabloids that hunted her and Joss’ story. Her stay at Torr includes her cycle of grief but once she copes with Joss’ death, she begins a cycle of personal growth. Where she was initially hurt by Colman’s vengeful actions and Sophie’s cruel antics toward her and Joss, she realizes that she must be strong and protect her relationship and Joss’ legacy. Brought on by forced isolation, this new, tough identity that Millie has acquired gives her a newfound confidence. Torr provides Millie with an identity aside from the one she has always known as Joss’ Moody’s wife and Colman Moody’s mother.
All in all, Kay expresses how the original African dispersal has affected it’s descendants but she also demonstrates how change of environment positively influences identity. These characters are shown attaining new outlooks on life as they know it and coming into traits that are needed for a positive self-identity. Moreover, Kay’s awareness of struggles within various
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Sharon Morgan Beckford gathers how black Canadian women writers use Canada as place: “the characters’ concern about self in relation to place, Canada, both in terms of its physical and imaginative geographies, is depicted through their physical and psychical journeys” (461). Toronto becomes a character in the novel as it gives the reader a look through the eyes of the city. The city through Toronto’s eyes is a vivid juxtaposition of the beauty of the city from the ugly; love from hatred; and the essence of the city from the soulless-ness of certain individuals. With these juxtapositions, the reader is forced to contemplate, “how do we see?” and “how do we love?” Because of the role that Toronto plays in the novel, it also plays a major role in the lives of the