Themes

1. Immigration and Legal Uncertainty

• The central theme of the story is the uncertainty faced by immigrants who are waiting for legal status.

• The parents’ anxiety contrasts with their daughter’s innocence, showing how bureaucratic systems dominate adult immigrant life but cannot be grasped by children.

  • cf. "If I tell him, he’ll think I’m selfish. I want to get back to Mississippi in time for soccer."

• The green card becomes a symbol of freedom, security, and belonging, illustrating how legal documents can determine a family’s fate.

2. Childhood Innocence vs. Adult Reality

• The narrator sees the world through a child’s eyes — curious, distracted, often unaware.

• This creates a powerful contrast with the heavy adult concerns around her, especially the fear of deportation or instability.

  • cf. "If Dad went to Africa, he wouldn’t be able to come back to America."

• Her misunderstandings highlight how children often experience serious family events without fully grasping their meaning.

3. Identity and Belonging

• The narrator is born in the U.S., making her American by law, while her parents still feel “in between” cultures.

• This creates a layered exploration of identity:

  • First-generation immigrants often feel they must earn their place.

  • Second-generation children inherit cultural roots without the same legal or emotional insecurity.

    • cf: "“No, she’s the American in the family,” Mom says and smiles."

• The story suggests that belonging can be both legal and emotional, and not everyone in a family experiences it the same way.

4. Family and Generational Divide

• The relationships reveal how immigration affects families differently.

• The parents must manage fear, responsibility, and bureaucracy.

• The narrator lives in a world of everyday childhood worries.

• Their experiences show a generational gap in understanding, but also a strong sense of care and unity.

• cf. "I know we’ll soon be in Mississippi. The car is warm. Dad is going on about the elections again."

5. Bureaucracy and Power

• The immigration office setting emphasises the power structures that control people’s lives.

• Those waiting are vulnerable; those behind the desks hold authority.

• The randomness and impersonality of the system underline a theme of powerlessness — a sharp contrast to the narrator’s carefree perspective.

• cf. "They are open like a puppet show is about to begin, but real people sit behind the glass windows, stamping and checking. I hope my parents get their green cards. I really hope we can drive back to Mississippi in time for my soccer game."

Motifs

1. The Colour Green

A major recurring motif, symbolising multiple layers of meaning:

• Hope and new beginnings (green card = future security)

• Waiting and permission to “go” (like a traffic light turning green)

• Growth and identity (green as a natural, life-giving colour)

• Everyday childhood associations (vegetables, grass, small objects)

The contrast between the narrator’s playful associations and her parents’ deeper emotional connection to “green” shows the gap between their worlds.

2. Television and Media

• The TV in the waiting room shows elections and political news.

• This reminds readers that immigration is not just personal but also political — shaped by laws, votes, and public debates.

• It also reflects the narrator’s boredom and detachment: she wants cartoons, not politics.

• cf. "The television is on CNN not Disney. A news woman is talking about the elections again. I don’t vote."

3. Waiting Rooms

• The immigration office represents limbo — a place where families wait for decisions that shape their lives.

• It becomes a visual motif for the in-between state of immigrants who are not fully included yet not fully excluded.