Paula's Special Tea

Paula's expensive white tea represents her privilege and prosperity in the United States. She likes to show it off to Kim and Ma, but she does not let them have any, representing her interest in demonstrating how successful she has been in the United States. Yet, instead of sharing her good fortune, she wants to keep it away from Ma and Kim, giving them, instead, only cheap green tea.

The Photograph of Kim and Her Parents

The photograph symbolizes Kim's past. Ma only has one photograph of her small family before Pa died, and when Kim finds it, she notes that it "was all I had to take the place of memory" (43). Kim never knew her father; she can only imagine him based on what her mother told her. So, when she finds the photograph with his image and his handwriting on it, Kim...