The Great Divide

“Growing up, she was always the one who had dirt on her dress and scabs on her elbows and hair she refused to comb unless it was Sunday and she was going to church.”

This passage characterizes Ada. She is independent and does not conform to the standards of dress, comportment, and beauty that so hinder characters like Marian. She does not care what other people think of her and retains an inner sense of who she is irrespective of judgement.

“‘Why, we sailed to a swamp!’ John nodded. ‘That’s right, and we shall clean it up.’”

This passage portrays the prevailing attitudes that white imperialists held about Panama. Although Panamanian society was cohesive and Panamanian culture rich, north Americans like John saw the space as underdeveloped and backwards.

“He pointed to the top of the hill where a large white house stood alone, graced by the sun. It was two stories tall with a broad, screened veranda that swept across the front and wrapped around its sides.”

John and other wealthy north Americans in Panama built themselves grand mansions that stood in marked contrast to the kind of housing favored by locals. This mansion symbolizes north American involvement in Panama: Wealthy whites saw Panama as a set of resources to be plundered and extracted much wealth from the country without truly aiding the local economy, as reflected by the fact that the house stands alone but grand.