The Letters

Suzy’s letters to Mai represent the irrevocability of one’s past. Many years after Suzy left Mai to the care of an adoptive family, Suzy reconnected with Mai through a series of letters to her, which Suzy writes and delivers in secret. In the letters, Suzy describes her life in Vietnam, and she attempts to make sense of the events of the last 20 years of her life. Suzy explores the hardships she experienced and the choices she made, and she attempts to explain to her Mai the rationale behind these choices. Thus, these letters represent the irrevocable nature of Suzy’s past and the work that one must do to come to terms with the own decisions they have made in life.

Dragonfish

The image of the dragonfish represents the allure of the dark aspects of human nature. When Robert first meets Jonathan Van...