East Gladness

East Gladness is symbolic of home. Hai has a fraught relationship with the place, but he is always compelled to return to the town because this is where he grew up. Over the course of the novel, he reinvents his relationship with East Gladness and develops a more stable sense of belonging in the town.

King Philip's Bridge

King Philip's Bridge is symbolic of a crossroad. Hai stands on the bridge at the novel's beginning, prepared to jump to his death. This image is a metaphor for Hai's entrapment between the past and the future. He does not know how to reconcile with his past or to face his future. The bridge symbolizes the space between these temporal realities. Hai also meets Grazina during this scene. She lives on the opposite bank. She calls him off the bridge. She is inviting him to the opposite...