Violent Crowd
Before leaving Haiti, Sophie witnesses a violent group of rioters protesting against the renaming of the airport. The rioters become violent and the army has to get involved. The image created here is that of a violent crowd, volatile and unpredictable and hard to control; the image evoked here is also important because it makes reference to the feelings Sophie has regarding her departure. Sophie feels angry and sad to leave her aunt to go and live with a mother she does not remember seeing in person. Inside her, a battle takes place just like a battle takes place between the rioters and the police.
Cassette
Shortly after Sophie arrives in America, Martine takes her daughter to the post office where they mail a cassette to Atie back in Haiti. In that moment, Sophie envisions herself becoming smaller and smaller, until she reaches the same size as the cassette and she imagines herself being shipped back to Haiti. This image is important because it shows just how attached Sophie is to her aunt and how much Sophie wishes she were back home.
Father Figure
Sophie had never had a male parental figure in her life. When Sophie meets Joseph, the man old enough to be her father, Sophie sees in him more than just a lover. In fact, Sophie never describes Joseph from the perspective of a girl madly in love with a man but rather from the perspective of a girl looking for guidance and protection. Joseph is portrayed more like a father than a lover and this becomes particularly clear from the scenes when Sophie falls asleep listening to Joseph play his saxophone, alluding to the ways a parent would put his child to bed.
Atie
Sophie looks back at her Tante Atie as she prepares to board the plane. It is a poignant image not only because we can imagine the child taking one last look at the woman who raised her and whom she loves more than anything, but also because Danticat creates a vivid image of a poor Haitian woman. Atie is not well-dressed, she is dusty and dirty, and she does not look educated or important. She is a simple woman from a family with "dirt under their fingernails," as she says, but she is everything to Sophie. She is the heart and soul of the family, the bedrock of Sophie's life. She is Haiti in many respects.
