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The Convent

This object mentioned in the chapter entitled "The Sisters" is a symbol of how memory is fallible and is open to different interpretations, depending on who is doing the remembering. Two of the Garcia sisters joke about how their mother, Laura, used to threaten to leave them next to this object if they misbehaved. When this is mentioned to Laura, however, she denies that it ever happened, recalling instead a story about Yo running away toward this object and then making up a lie about wanting to visit her cousin.

Mink Coat

This object is a symbol of the difficulties of parenting and of good, but misguided intentions. When the Garcia girls are little, Laura uses this object to scare them out of their misbehavior. At one point after moving to New York City, Yo finds this object and sobs in terror, since she had thought...

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