Amethyst (Symbol)
Early in the novel, Ha's mother considers selling her amethyst ring, her most treasured possession, which Ha's father gave her. Her children protest, and insist she must keep the ring. She does, only to lose the stone from it later in the book. Ha's mother treats the missing stone as the sign she has been waiting for: having lost this symbolic connection to her husband, she concludes that her husband must be dead, and it is time to mourn his memory and move on.
Papaya (Symbol)
Early in the novel, Ha is preoccupied with the papaya tree she raises in her backyard. The tree symbolizes her connection to Vietnam, as Ha must leave the tree behind. Throughout the novel she longs for the rich, juicy taste of papaya, and is sorely disappointed to try Mrs. Washington's dried version. However, once Ha tries the soaked papaya, she concludes that it isn't so bad. In this way, the papaya comes to symbolize Ha learning how to compromise her old life and with the new.
Food (Motif)
Ha spends much of the novel fixated on food. The novel begins and ends with the special food eaten on the lunar new year, and throughout the narrative the motif of food recurs frequently. In Vietnam, food is the main source of joy in Hà's life, while in America, food is often a disappointing replacement for the memories she has of better food back home. Ultimately, food represents her connection to her Vietnamese culture, and how Hà must adapt to the less-tasty local culture in Alabama.
The letter S (Symbol)
Ha's first English lesson in the United States is the grammatical practice of putting an "s" on the end of most, but not all, plural nouns. Hà struggles to pronounce the "s" sound, which she cannot escape having to pronounce, as both her teachers—Miss Scott and Mrs. Washington—have many "s" sounds in their names. In this way, the letter "s" is symbolic of the linguistic barrier Hà faces in America.
Flag on Presidential Palace (Symbol)
As Hà and her family flee Saigon on the refugee ship, a helicopter pilot makes a crash landing and comes onboard to tell everyone that the North's tanks have broken through the gates to the presidential palace and planted a flag with one star on the roof. The flag represents the communist North's defeat of South Vietnam, and the end of the Vietnam War. The flag also symbolizes the loss of Ha's home country.
