The opening story in the chapter on race about Dalton Conley kidnapping a child to become his baby sister shows:

this passage has a lot of figurative language like examples are

the day we found the sharks' teeth was foggy and cool.

moisture hung in the air so thick you could almost see it sparkling in the dim sunlight.

figurative language can not be taken seriously it is just sayings.

- self-esteem and a clear goal for writing

- financial security

- a room to be alone

the father plays a very vital role in the life of the narrator in the story. the father is that person who may be physically absent but is also the one who just existed in the mind or the memory of the narrator. in the mind of the storyteller, his father during the time he was with their family was dutiful, orderly and straightforward. but when the narrator was asked who has always the final say, it would always be the mother. it is because of the father’s departure that made the authority of the mother waive and became questionable. the father’s leaving really made a big impact in his family’s lives. the father never set foot on land and he was more towards the lonely nature because as the story said he never acknowledged the existence of his family after his departure but it is implied to the reader that the reason why the father stayed and rowed nearby to maintain togetherness.

there is nothing for us to off of