Richardson house is described as very clean and organized in order to portray Elena’s belief that a structured home creates a perfect life. Because the Richardson household is structured and organized it reflects Elena’s belief that everything in life should follow strict rules and everything should be under control. Consequently the house becomes a symbol of her strict parenting style and her need to control everything in her kids' lives. Therefore when people want to be in control of every aspect of their lives, it can create pressure and tension rather than real happiness. However, the order and perfection of the Richardson house does not prevent problems from happening within the family. Throughout the story, the Richardson children began to struggle with their identities and relationships, and feel pressure to live up to their mother’s expectations of maintaining the family’s reputation. Because the Richardson parents have such high expectations their house becomes a place where their children feel that they have to live up to Elena’s idea of perfection. Since the house reflects Elena’s controlling nature, it creates tension between her and her children. Therefore environments that are built around strict rules and controlling nature lead to frustration and conflicts.

The Richardson house continues to maintain control while also revealing hidden tension and secrets that have developed within the family. Moreover, Celeste Ng utilizes the Richardson house in order to demonstrate the hidden tension that begins to appear within the family. Later in the novel, the youngest daughter Izzy is getting in argument, constantly, with her mother and is constantly feeling as if she doesn’t belong in her own family, especially after Elena treats her differently than the rest of her siblings. Because Richardson is supposed to represent perfection, Izzy constantly arguing with her mother reveals that home is actually full of hidden tensions. Consequently the house becomes a place where Izzy feels that she is an outsider and misunderstood rather than loved and supported. Therefore families who appear stable and successful may also be struggling with tensions and secrets within their home. Furthermore the tensions within the Richardson family become too strong to ignore. At the end of the novel, Izzy sets multiple small fires throughout the Richardson house before she runs away from her house and family, destroying the home that used to symbolize perfection. Because the Richardson house burns down, it represents the downfall of perfection that Elena constantly tried to maintain throughout her and her children’s lives. Since the fires reveal the tension that has continued to build up throughout the story, it shows how trying to keep down their emotions finally erupt to the surface. Therefore when problems are ignored for too long they often lead to destruction.  

Ultimately, Celeste Ng uses the Richardson house to show both Elena’s need for control and the hidden tensions that are constantly growing within her family; the house represents more than a physical home. By creating the Richardson house into a symbol of perfection that eventually falls apart, Celeste Ng shows that control cannot hold a family together when conflict is being ignored. In the end of the novel Ng suggests that when people focus too much on what they see on the outside the truth will eventually always come out causing irreversible damage. 

In the novel “Little Fires Everywhere” Celeste Ng employs houses in order to convey the contrast between control and freedom which is shown by the hidden tensions within the families, ultimately illustrating that trying to create a perfect and controlled life often leads to conflicts.

Celeste Ng initially utilizes the Richardson house in order to demonstrate Elena Richardson’s desire for control and perfection. In the beginning of the novel, the Richardson house is described as very clean and organized in order to portray Elena’s belief that a structured home creates a perfect life. Because the Richardson household is structured and organized it reflects Elena’s belief that everything in life should follow strict rules and everything should be under control. Consequently the house becomes a symbol of her strict parenting style and her need to control everything in her kids' lives. Therefore when people want to be in control of every aspect of their lives, it can create pressure and tension rather than real happiness. However, the order and perfection of the Richardson house does not prevent problems from happening within the family. Throughout the story, the Richardson children began to struggle with their identities and relationships, and feel pressure to live up to their mother’s expectations of maintaining the family’s reputation. Because the Richardson parents have such high expectations their house becomes a place where their children feel that they have to live up to Elena’s idea of perfection. Since the house reflects Elena’s controlling nature, it creates tension between her and her children. Therefore environments that are built around strict rules and controlling nature lead to frustration and conflicts.

The Richardson house continues to maintain control while also revealing hidden tension and secrets that have developed within the family. Moreover, Celeste Ng utilizes the Richardson house in order to demonstrate the hidden tension that begins to appear within the family. Later in the novel, the youngest daughter Izzy is getting in argument, constantly, with her mother and is constantly feeling as if she doesn’t belong in her own family, especially after Elena treats her differently than the rest of her siblings. Because Richardson is supposed to represent perfection, Izzy constantly arguing with her mother reveals that home is actually full of hidden tensions. Consequently the house becomes a place where Izzy feels that she is an outsider and misunderstood rather than loved and supported. Therefore families who appear stable and successful may also be struggling with tensions and secrets within their home. Furthermore the tensions within the Richardson family become too strong to ignore. At the end of the novel, Izzy sets multiple small fires throughout the Richardson house before she runs away from her house and family, destroying the home that used to symbolize perfection. Because the Richardson house burns down, it represents the downfall of perfection that Elena constantly tried to maintain throughout her and her children’s lives. Since the fires reveal the tension that has continued to build up throughout the story, it shows how trying to keep down their emotions finally erupt to the surface. Therefore when problems are ignored for too long they often lead to destruction.  

Ultimately, Celeste Ng uses the Richardson house to show both Elena’s need for control and the hidden tensions that are constantly growing within her family; the house represents more than a physical home. By creating the Richardson house into a symbol of perfection that eventually falls apart, Celeste Ng shows that control cannot hold a family together when conflict is being ignored. In the end of the novel Ng suggests that when people focus too much on what they see on the outside the truth will eventually always come out causing irreversible damage. 

Ng initially portrays Lydia as a teen who deceives her parents to hide her struggles and avoid their expectations leading her into isolation to the world around them. Lydia pretends to be successful in school and social with her classmates even though she is secretly struggling. Because Lydia hides her true struggles she is unable to express how overwhelmed she feels. Consequently a person hiding their feelings can make them feel more isolated and disconnected from the world around them. Therefore when individuals hide the truth in order to protect the people they care about it can often lead to isolation and not feeling understood by the people they are closest to. Ng continues to build Lydia’s character into isolation from the world around her. Lydia acts as though she is interested in her academics and her friendships, even though she feels disconnected and unhappy due to her parents expectations. Because Lydia feels that she has to live up to her parents expectations, she begins to disregard the life that she wants to live. Consequently a person isolating themselves can lead to them feeling emotionally disconnected from the people around them. Therefore when humans suppress their true identities in order to live up to others expectations, it often leads to isolation and loss of self. 

Lydia continues to hide her emotional struggles even when they become overwhelming. Ng moreover utilizes Lydia deceiving others in order to capture the hardships she goes through when trying to be a person she is not portraying the struggles she deals with when trying to find her own identity while dealing with the expectations of what others think her identity should be. Lydia never tells her parents how lonely and stressed she truly feels. Because she keeps everything bottled up, she does not know a healthy way to express her emotions. Consequently pushing down her emotions can lead her feelings to become more extreme and create more emotional isolation. Therefore when people avoid expressing their struggles, it can lead to increased emotional distress and disconnection from others.  Lydia continues to feel completely isolated and disconnected from herself and the world around her. Even while living with her family, Lydia feels alone and misunderstood. Because Lydia hides her true thoughts and feelings, others are unable to help or support her. Consequently the lack of understanding that she feels strengthens her sense of loneliness. Therefore when there is no honesty in a relationship it can lead a person to feeling disconnected and emotional isolation. 

Ng’s character Lydia represents a character who intentionally deceives others in order to shield her true identity. She struggles to be able to fully express who she is because she is forced to live up to her parents expectations. When people have expectations set for them that are unreachable for them it can often cause that person to become disconnected and emotionally isolated from the people around them. Honesty is important in a person's life and relationships and without it, it can lead to greater isolation and harm towards that individual.

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