"Crazy" man

The "crazy person" (3) Gifty's aunt points out to her in the market in Ghana at the beginning of Chapter 1 is a symbol of the pain and confusion Gifty has felt throughout her life relating to her mother's mental health issues. Gifty was in Ghana because her mother was suffering a major mental health collapse and she recalls immediately thinking of her mother when her aunt pointed the man out to her. She explains, "I'm not sure I know what crazy looks like, but even today when I hear the word I picture a split screen, the dreadlocked man in Kejetia on one side, my mother lying in bed on the other" (4).

Mice

The mice Gifty works with in the lab in the novel's main timeline are a symbol of the hope and faith she channels into her experiments. The purpose of Gifty's research is to...