In the novel Everfair, Nisi Shawl utilizes various literary elements, namely diction, imagery, and humanization with monologue, to display Lisette's journey with her new bike, how it grants her the freedom she wants, and how the bicycle means more to her than just a mean of transportation, ultimately revealing that a value of anything is not determined by the price, but the experience and emotions it brings to a person's heart.

To start, Shawl introduces the character Lisette Toutournier and her bicycle to provide the context of how the journey happens and how Lisette perceives it. From the very beginning, it appears that Lisette has become a little bit tired, as seen in how she "sighed" and "breathed in again." Such action represents how the walk she is on might be a little bit exhausting, and it is proven true because she is walking along the "narrow forest path." The purpose of the details is not to pessimistically illustrating the journey, but rather it prepares for a introduction of something that would make Lisette forgets about all the challenges she has: her "new mechanical friend." Oh how cute it is for her to call a bicycle a "mechanical friend." The word "friend" signifies that the bicycle means more to her than just an object; it is a person, a companion, the one who would be with her through the highs and the lows. At one point, it needs to be recognized that the desire to ride a bike has led her to a beautiful sight, as suggested by the image of "the valley" or "the sky pale overhead." Admiring the view might not be the inital purpose of the trip, but the desire of riding a bike has definitely opened more opportunities for Lisette to get to see the world in a more beautiful way. But the journey does not stop there; in fact, she wants to be able to ride on the bicycle. And as the ideal place for the take-off gets closer, her "vista opened wider, wider." The repetition of the word "wider" together with the opening "vista" renders the excitement Lisette feels inside her chest. The moment is right here, in front of the eyes, the moment her dream comes true. That moment is then described by a very detailed list of actions Lisette takes, like how her "legs [are] drawn high," how the "feet [are] turning circles like her machine's wheels, with those wheels." The effect of the italicized "with" is major; recalling how Lisette thinks of her bike as more than just a vehicle, but a friend, a companion, and what happens between them should be together. Now that the real journey with her "friend" has been put into motion, it is described to be "faster, faster," followed by "Flying!" and "Freedom!" The connotation of such words clearly conveys the spirit of such action; the moment her feets turn with the wheels, and no longer walk on the ground, is the moment she receives her nonstop freedom. At this point, Shawl has portrayed how Lisette has opened a new chapter of her life by how she has now been able to travel with her "mechanical friend."

The journey has started, and it is time for Lisette to fully experience and value it. To accomplish Lisette's enjoyment, Shawl introduces significant selection of details. Lisette's happiness as she rides her bike is seen in how she "sped down the road, down the hill," or how the wind "rushed into her face, whistled into her ears, filled her nose, her lung, tore her hair." These are the very vivid details that fully illustrate how Lisette is really, really enjoying this moment with her "friend." For Lisette, this experience is so new, so fun that she can feel it with any parts of her body, and with any of the five senses. As she coasts through the air, she could feel the "coolwarmcoolwarm" of it; the interesting syntax adds another complex layer to the whimsical and fun journey Lisette is having. At the same time, she could also feel the "currents of sun and shade splashing over her," which is so different from how "the insects buzzed about her exposed skin" at the beginning when she was still walking. Having a bicycle to ride makes Lisette feels the feeling, and experiences the experience she has never had before. The bike could lead her to anywhere and anyone, whether it is "the river" or people living around her town. The purpose of introducing the river, or a lot of people right here, is to convey how large the world is around Lisette, and yet she is now able to navigate and observe everything, which makes sense, because it is part of the "Freedom" that is granted to her to moment her feet turn with the wheels. Yet at last, she decides to be "alone," she wants to have a little moment of reflection and revealing her feelings. The excerpt ends with Lisette talking to the bicycle as an actual friend, an actual human being, about how it means so much to Lisette, and how nothing could give her "'such happiness as [she has] found with [it].'" This quick dialogue is heartmelting; it reveals that Lisette is so innocent and loving, while also revealing the deeper layer of how relationships between people and people, or even people and things, should work. Perhaps, Lisette has realized that nothing in her life is for granted, and that every single moment she has, and everything that appears in her life, should be cherished and loved forever and ever.

In the end, Shawl has used the journey of Lisette with her new bicycle in the novel Everfair to send a message about how value of things in life, about how everything in life should be appreciated by the memories they make and the experience they bring that makes one life a more wonderful one.