Character Analysis: Little Fires Everywhere

In the novel, Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng, the lives of the Richardson and Warren families are tracked. The Richardons are a well-off family who have lived in Shaker Heights for generations, while the Warrens are new to the neighborhood and have never kept a residence for more than a few months. Through this expert from chapter ten, the author describes Mrs. Richardson’s analysis of Mia to communicate the theme that people of different social classes often misjudge those they cannot relate to. In this passage, Ng uses imagery, repetition, details, and diction to portray Mrs. Richardson as a person who values moral superiority through her threatened attitude toward Mia.
Firstly, Ng portrays Mrs. Richardson as a person who values moral superiority. As Mrs. Richardson looks at Mia, she notices “a sweet face. A young face, but not an innocent face” (138). This imagery highlights that Mrs.

In the 1990s when this book takes place, purity culture praises innocence. If Mia, as Mrs. Richardson remarks, acts young and sweet, but not innocent, she may be too young for her actions. Mrs. Richardson uses this to feel better than Mia because she feels as though she follows the rules but Mia does not. Next, when referring to Mia and her art, Mrs. Richardson thinks “what kind of person… what kind of person” (138). Ng uses repetition of the phrase “what kind of person” to illustrate how disconnected Mrs. Richardson feels from Mia because one would not reference a close friend as just a “person”. Her patronizing tone used to reference Mia and her art further shows how much better Mrs. Richardson wants to be. Mrs. Richardson also uses the opportunity to critique Mia’s art because that