Here, Cliff uses it to convey closeness and distance, even taking it to the extreme of alienation. There is a significant attempt to free the novel from the Eurocentric overtones present in other texts. Furthermore, it does so in creative and interesting ways, using the juxtaposition between Clare's formal English narration and the patois dialect that both Clare and the reader encounter throughout the text. At first describing it as "other", however later in the novel the change becomes that the English narrative is the other, the patois that serves as the basis of connection for Clare. However, the text never allows the reader to forget the constant tension between the narrative and the dialogue and serves to highlight the alienation and distance that Chiara feels throughout the