Fighting Words

Suki finds a pair of purple high-top sneakers at Old Navy and shows them to Della. The shoes quickly become symbolic of her new start away from the free clothes bin and Clifton’s home. The sneakers also symbolize Suki’s love and care for Della, as she sacrifices a few items in her own cart to buy them. As Suki buys her the shoes, Della thinks, “I could always count on Suki. Suki fixed everything” (17). Della views Suki as someone upon whom she can always rely on to fix her problems, as Suki has done all their lives.

The sneakers take on a new meaning after Suki attempts suicide. The sneakers represent Della’s guilt, as she feels she burdened Suki to the point that Suki wanted to die by suicide. After leaving Suki at the hospital, Della sees her high-top sneakers and thinks: “I took too much from her. My fault. I loved my high-tops, but right at that moment I hated them too” (176). To Della, the shoes are physical proof that she pushed Suki to her breaking point by being too selfish and demanding. Della goes back to wearing the sneakers from the free clothing bin because she no longer feels she deserves to wear the purple high-top sneakers when she has already taken so much from Suki.