Symbolism In Gutter Child

“Never lose sight of the promises we deserve and the things that are rightfully ours,” (Richardson 367). The land is now owned by the Mainlanders, but before the mainlanders had taken the ground, the Sossi people are rightful owners of the land, and mainlanders roam today. Gutter Child is a novel about black people who need to pay off their debt to acquire Redemption and Freedom. In the novel Gutter Child, Jael Richardson uses symbolism such as Academies, Pregnancy, and Redemption Freedom to explore identities, since these symbols can create trauma of past events.

Symbolism in the academies explores identity since it can create trauma from past events like bullying, leashes, and relationships. After Elimina arrived at the academy, she got

For instance, gutter children living in Miss Charollette’s home are forced to do chores while being pregnant. Elimina states that “she’s proud of all the different ways she’s able to make us work” (Richardson 204). A person being forced to do chores while pregnant can cause physical and mental stress since people that are pregnant are supposed to rest. It is also seen that only pregnant Gutter children do chores and Mainland children do not do any chores, which can make a Gutter child feel like a second-class human being. Furthermore, Lilly’s baby is taken away from her and not being able to hold or see her baby after birth. Elimina sees “Miss Charlotte rushes out of the house carrying the baby. She moves quickly across the porch and with one of the Mainland guards leading directly for the grey car,” (Richardson 225). After Lilly’s baby is taken from her, she was sent back to her academy and never able to see her child again. This can cause trauma and a disturbing experience since Tilly’s child is taken from her. A baby being inside Tilly for 9 months in her belly, so she acquired an attachment with the baby. Finally, after Tilly gave birth, the baby gets sent to a junior academy and Tilly returns to her academy. According to Elimina and the girls, they see “two guards push her up the ramp that leads