Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or colors
used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.
The Store
Momma’s store is a central gathering place in Stamps and
the center of Maya’s childhood. There she witnesses the cycles of
nature and labor, tending to workers in the cotton-picking season
and canners during the killing season. Maya notes that until she
left Arkansas for good at age thirteen, the Store was her favorite
place to be. It symbolizes the rewards of hard work and loyalty
and the importance of a strong and devout community.
Maya’s Easter Dress
The lavender taffeta dress that Momma alters for Maya
on Easter symbolizes Maya’s lack of love for herself and her wish
for acceptance through transformation. She believes that beauty
means white beauty. Hanging by the sewing machine,
the dress looks magical. Maya imagines that the dress will
reveal her true self to people who will then be shocked by her beauty.
Harsh reality strikes on Easter morning, however, when she realizes
that the dress is only a white woman’s throwaway that cannot wake
her from her black nightmare. Maya learns that her transformation
will have to take place from within.
