How does the author use symbolism in the novel, When No One Is Watching?

Sydney recalls a moment when she thought of her home on Gifford Place as a castle, an impenetrable fortress in which her mother kept her safe. In this vision, Sydney was a princess overseeing the neighborhood; however, Sydney’s impression of her home becomes distorted throughout the novel. First, a sympathetic East Asian woman describes Terry’s house as a castle in order to distract him from his racist musings, tarnishing Sydney’s imaginative ideal. Additionally, Theo references a conversation about a bouncy castle as a means of dismissing Terry, Josie, and Kim’s collective accusations about what went on at Mr. Perkins’ block party meeting. The devolution of Sydney’s childhood fortress into an inflatable children’s party fixture symbolizes the social distortion of Black people’s experiences into caricatures of the often brutal realities of racism.