Themes

Grouping the stories – many of the stories have similar themes and meanings

Narratives

 In Your Shoes the writer suggests some things that the narrator does not tell the reader.

In Snowdrops there is a love story hidden.

In Chemistry there are hints of something going on in the background.

Mysteries Chemistry, Snowdrops and Your Shoes all contain mysteries, which are sometimes hidden.

Generation gaps Flight looks at the relationship between Alice and her grandfather.

In Superman and Paula Brown's New Snowsuit the narrator, as a child, looks to her parents for support but does not receive it.

Your Shoes - unhappy family Growing Up - the relation between a father and his two daughters.

In Chemistry a family spread out over three generations

Rites of passage

Flight Alice is growing up and moving on into a new life,

Superman and Paula Brown's New Snowsuit about a betrayal

Your Shoes a young woman's attempt to gain independence

In Growing Up recognition of his daughters' increasing independence

The End of Something the way love can come to an end

Chemistry and Snowdrops look at death, and moving on with life.

Sad and Happy

Sadness - mother in Your Shoes and the teacher in Snowdrops are sad because they have lost someone they love. story begins sadly but moves to a happy ending-

Flight the old man accepts his granddaughter's moving on, and marrying.

The End of Something is about a relationship that dies.

Nature

Flight – the homing pigeons compared with his granddaughter.

Chemistry – shows contrast between science and human attraction.

Growing Up – the garden of the people, the dog and two daughters