Toll Booth

The toll booth that the narrator must pass through before she can arrive in New York City is symbolic of how each person who arrives in New York must “pay their dues” before they can really be considered a New Yorker. Before she arrived, the narrator thought that she could just arrive in New York and immediately become a new person. She did not realize that there would be a process (her work at the restaurant) whereby she would have to learn things before she could feel like she was really a part of New York. This is symbolized by the toll booth because the narrator arrives at this symbolic gateway without the money she needs to pass through. She circles back, gets the money she needs to pay entry, and proceeds into New York for real once she has paid.

Stripes

Getting an official...