The Sentence

In The Sentence, doors symbolize pathways between different places and spaces of mind. The doors of Birchbark Books are painted blue to symbolize a safe space free of evil, dark spirits, and sadness. Flora’s ghost finally finds release from the store through two doors: the entrance and exit to the confessional, and the blue door that leads her out of the store. By entering and exiting through these doors, Flora’s ghost finds movement and the possibility of a new place. When she learns that she’s not stuck in the store, she finds her way out. Erdrich uses doors as an important symbol of movement, possibility, and freedom, as evident when Tookie reaches a resolution in her most central internal conflicts and needs a new source of inspiration and challenge. Erdrich provides encouragement via an open door, beckoning Tookie to enter or exit through it. Moreover, Tookie’s isolation in prison is doorless. She’s confined by bars she can’t open or close herself. This inability to move with autonomy heightens the lack of freedom Tookie suffers in prison. Additionally, books are a type of door in this novel because they lead to other feelings, places, and people.