Realist detail works by metonymy to create worlds through association

Evidence

Jamila set out her textbooks. She was a vigorous, square-jawed woman, who looked strong; her long hair had a rippling wave, and a coarse black sheen. Her face, unveiled, was very white, unnaturally so, slightly pitted from recently cleared acne; I thought of women in Europe, not too long ago, whitening and poisoning their skins with lead. — Hilary Mantel, A Memoir of My Former Self- A Life in…, 81 (#expands, via linked claim)

It is possible to make a photofit for Gulfman. He is thirty to thirty-five, lower middle class and embarrassingly aspirant. His education is redbrick/polytechnic. He believes himself to be shrewd, likes to say that he is a cynic. He reads Wilbur Smith and the free magazine that comes with his new Gold Card. Jewelry is worn—sometimes a Credit Suisse token on a chain. He despises the arts—he might go to the amateur Gilbert and Sullivan, if there is someone in it he knows. He likes to talk about camcorders, compact discs, kit-cars and tax shelters. His wife—very often his second wife—is deeply interested in nail polish. Her ambition is to open a nursery school. — Hilary Mantel, A Memoir of My Former Self- A Life in…, 184 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• corroborated: 3 independent passages support this claim
• XREF: connects to: Magic realism convinces readers the extraordinary occurs within the ordinary — Janet Burroway; Elizabeth Stuckey-French; Ned Stuckey-French, Writing Fiction, Tenth Edition: A Guide…, 496; Character can be built from accumulated telling consumer details — Hilary Mantel, A Memoir of My Former Self- A Life in…, 184; Character is sketched through specific physical details and social pressures — Hilary Mantel, A Memoir of My Former Self- A Life in…, 81 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Character is sketched through specific physical details and social pressures #expands (0.80) — Hilary Mantel, A Memoir of My Former Self- A Life in…, 81
• Character can be built from accumulated telling consumer details #corroborates (0.75) — Hilary Mantel, A Memoir of My Former Self- A Life in…, 184