In these lines, Noda tells us that her mother is Asian, and therefore she was not considered black or white. This statement, far from being obvious, reveals an important characteristic of the way American society operates. What Noda implies in the passage is that, at the time, society was divided along racial lines. However, this usually only meant black and white people. Other minorities were considered nonexistent or less important, and because of this, they struggled finding the place where they belonged and the identity that corresponded to them.
Often in the 1900s, America was segregated into two groups, black and white. being an Asian in America could mean that she didn't fall into either category.
According to Genesis, the Babylonians wanted to make a name for themselves by building a mighty city and a tower “with its top in the heavens.” God disrupted the work by so confusing the language of the workers that they could no longer understand one another.
