But don't get it twisted—we're still brown.
-- Narrator ("Brown")

Importance: At the start of the novel, the narrator describes all of the things that the brown girls look like. Because the girls are all from different racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds, they each have different complexions. In this line, appearing at the latter end of the chapter's single paragraph, the narrator disrupts her rhythmic and syntactic patterns. In the same way that the language interrupts itself, the image of the brown girls with light complexions disrupts stereotypical notions of brownness. This moment also speaks to the narrative point of view, conveying the ways in which the narrator's singular voice encompasses the distinct identities of many brown girls.

Our own houses: neat brick rectangles. Hidden, peripheral.
-- Narrator (The Dregs of Queens)

Importance: At the end of the narrator's lengthy description of the girls' childhood neighborhood, the narrator returns to the girls' personal dwelling places. The mention of their houses...