The novel opens with a curse word, uttered in frustration by Mariam’s mother, when Mariam breaks a treasured heirloom. What does Mariam’s memory of this suggest about her sense of herself and her relationship with her mother? How does this open the tone for the novel?

can you explain more please?

Explanation:

the pronoun reference replaces a noun, but you have to make sure there's no room for confusion.

in the first sentence "her" could be referring to shely or to the sister. the answer there is "shelly called her sister and told her about the new baby."

in the second sentence "it" could be referring to the roof or the floor. the answer there is "since the roof leaks on the family room floor, we need to repair the roof."