These chapters further characterize the setting of Swift River, contextualizing the anti-Black racism that Diamond and her family experience as part of a broader pattern of xenophobia and colonialism. For example, Clara’s letters reveal that the townspeople hate the French Canadian workers even more than the Black residents that they drove away with their systemized racism, referring to the French Canadians as “Canucks”—a pejorative in this context. The change in the town’s attitude toward Clara reveals the depth of the prejudice; the townsfolk are more comfortable with her than they were before because at least she is familiar to them, whereas the newcomers, who speak French and have other cultural differences, are an unknown quantity. 

Shelly and Diamond’s discussion of the town’s treatment of the Indigenous Americans who once lived on the land further demonstrates the town’s character: “‘Yeah, this whole thing,’ I swept my arms around [the hotel], ‘is disrespectful.’ Before the Black people were chased out of Swift River, there was a massacre of hundreds of Native American women and children and elders—it happened while they slept” (123-24). The racist history of Swift River extends to the town’s founding. What’s more, the land’s original residents are now “commemorated” only in racist stereotypes—such as the statue of a “chief” at the Tee Pee Motel—exploited and commodified for the sake of a cheap hotel. The longstanding pattern of racist violence lends weight to the theme of The Intergenerational Harm of Racism. 

Shelly receives further characterization in these chapters, emerging as a foil to Diamond. Like Diamond, Shelly is desperate to earn her driver’s license so that she can leave Swift River. Her motivation for doing so differs, however, as she wants to be with her mother in Florida—a contrast that highlights the systemic racism fueling Diamond’s own desire to leave. Regardless, in her desperation, Shelly tolerates the sexual predation of the driving instructor, Mr. Jimmy. 

This section also continues to show the strain that racism places on Diamond’s family, as evidenced by Pop and Ma’s discussion of the man who has been following them:

‘Annabelle. We are arguing over which of the many people out to get me is responsible for sending that jackass.’

Ma is quiet.

‘It’s Tom. I know it,’ Pop says. ‘I don’t care what he does to me—he’s not gonna fuck with my wife.’ He pounds his fist on something in rhythm to the last few words. Things fall to the floor. ‘He is sending me a message you could never understand,’ Pop says (144).

Ma’s actions elsewhere suggest that Pop is right in saying that she cannot fully understand the many ways racism manifests itself in Pop’s life—for example, the fact that he cannot even say with certainty who is threatening his family because there are multiple choices. Moreover, he has reason not to dismiss the implied threat to his family but rather to see it as the precursor to potential violence, as this is something that his family has seen again and again over the years in Swift River. Nevertheless, in totally precluding the possibility that his wife could “understand,” Pop widens the gap that is developing between them. The deterioration of personal relationships under stress is one of the many tragedies of racism that the novel portrays.

This deterioration only intensifies as the family travels to Woodville, Georgia, and Pop and Ma argue over whether to leave Swift River permanently. In much the same way that she struggles to understand Diamond’s frustration with the town, Ma cannot understand why Pop so desperately wants to leave Swift River, not fully grasping the threat racism poses or the stress it causes. Swift River is a symbol for all the racism that Pop has encountered; it is not so much the town itself that he wants to escape as it is the rot of racism. The ongoing tension between Pop and Ma, neither of whom have explained to Diamond that the purpose of the trip is to move to Woodville and not merely visit, upsets Diamond to the point that she pulls out a loose tooth before it is ready, causing physical pain to distract herself from the emotional pain that exists within the family.

One moment in the family history that is not full of pain is the love story between Clara and Jacques, which Clara tells to Sweetie in a letter in the form of a fairy tale. She writes, “Come listen to me, Sweetie. Listen. Let me tell you the story of The Midwife and The Frenchman” (179). The fairy tale framing suggests how magical Clara finds the experience of falling in love.