Queens

The neighborhood in Queens where the girls grow up symbolizes home. Although many of the girls are desperate to leave the neighborhood and shape a life independent of it, they soon realize that Queens is an integral part of their identity. Whenever they return to the old neighborhood, they remember where they came from and the importance of sustaining contact with their origins. Queens is not simply a place they grew up as children, but remains the girls' home throughout their adult lives.

Manhattan

Manhattan symbolizes distance. As soon as the girls begin attending schools or renting apartments in this borough of the city, rifts begin to form between them. Manhattan distances the girls from their roots and thus from the people and places that have defined them.

Brown Boys

Brown boys symbolize desire and understanding. When the girls are young, they insist they will never...