When Kit Tyler first lands in Connecticut, she can’t relate to the landscape that confronts her: “The bleak line of shore surrounding the gray harbor was a disheartening contrast to the shimmering green and white that fringed the turquoise bay of Barbados which was her home” (1-2). At frequent points in the story, color is used to emphasize the difference between the jewel tones of the Caribbean and the greyness of the New England countryside. The people in each location also take on the characteristics of the land. Kit’s grandfather in Barbados was wealthy and indulgent. He allowed her to read fiction and bought her expensive dresses. In contrast, her Puritan uncle forbids reading anything but scripture, and he wears austere black clothing on Sundays.

Kit’s homesickness is apparent as she dismisses her immediate surroundings in favor of memories of her childhood home. However, over the course of the novel, Kit begins to see New England in a more positive light. Her first view of the Great Meadow reminds her of Barbados for its airy freedom. Later, she comes to appreciate the changing seasons in Connecticut because she has never seen such transformations in the tropics: “The maple tree in front of the doorstep burned like a gigantic red torch.