Trees

The trees that grow around Janie's family's house in Michigan represent the figurative "roots" that her family establishes in the United States. Her father had planted the trees when they had first moved to Michigan, and the trees had grown to dramatic heights by the time the family leaves Michigan to return to Korea.

Spit bubble

The spit bubble that Hannah would blow in her mouth as a child, before she would begin dramatically crying, represents Hannah's stubborn and argumentative nature. While Hannah is not prone to hysterics as an adult, she has maintained a similarly short fuse before she becomes upset.

Intact bomb

For Janie's mother, a still-intact bomb in the forests near her childhood home represents all that remains of her older sister. Janie's mother's sister had been presumed kidnapped by North Koreans when she was in college, and is never seen again. Accordingly...