The Golden Gate Bridge

The Golden Gate Bridge represents the symbol of both the promise of America, and the fragility of civil rights for each American. It also represents part of the setting where most of the characters are from, since it is located in San Francisco, as well as the motif of white, red, and blue - as the bridge is red, rising out of fog (white), against the blue sky. She uses it to bookend the novel - introducing it in Chapter I on the second page and finishing on the last page in Chapter XVI with Minnow gazing out at it to demonstrate how it has evolved. Chee first mentions it from Minnow’s perspective as he sketches “the red towers of the Golden Gate Bridge rising beyond the school building like a promise” (2). When he returns to school for his final semester, before...