The Thousands

The neighborhood in the collection referred to as "The Thousands" symbolizes the enduring potential of human migration. In the collection's first story, The Thousands is a just-formed settlement whose residents must defend it from government story. However, in "The Bridge," The Thousands is a well-established and firmly rooted community.

Postcards

In "The King Is Always Above the People," the convenience store where the narrator works sells postcards depicting the unnamed country's recently overthrown dictator hanging from gallows in the capital city's plaza -- the inscription is the story's titular sentence. The darkly comic postcards symbolize the country's political upheaval and the uncertainties that follow it.

Stamps

The stamps that Nadal shows the narrator toward the end of "The King Is Always Above the People" symbolize the country's bygone authoritarian regime. Nadal tells the narrator that he used to sleep with a woman who also slept...