Rose symbol
In the last story called "The Management of Grief," the Canadian citizens are giving away roses to any Indian they see as a symbol of sympathy. Shaila and some of the others' grieving families go to the shore to watch the water and think about their lost loved ones. There is a man who lost his entire family and recently identified the bodies of his wife and three of his children. He comes up to Shaila and gives her two big roses to throw in the water for her two sons.
Alien allegory
The writer often refers to immigrants in America as aliens. They are like aliens who came from completely different worlds and are often times treated as such. They feel alienated from the society they came into because they have entirely different social and moral standards and even appearances. In "A wife's Story" their assimilation and transition from aliens to accepted citizens is perfectly described. They go from being non-existent to invisible to funny and then they are made fun of because they are disgusting. The character of wife shares that the insults are a path to acceptance.
Alice allegory
In the story "Loose Ends," an American man who was previously a soldier works as an assassin now. He goes on to describe his path on becoming a man who works that job. He contemptuously talks about what happened to the American dream. He answers his own question and says that Alice took it with her and there is no way of knowing which the Wonderland is now. This Alice that he talks about are the immigrants who came to America and overtook it with their businesses flourishing. The assassin hates "Alice" and at the end he finds himself in a hotel owned by "Alice" so he gets the rage of wanting Alice to submit to him, meaning him killing the Asian daughter of the hotel's owner.
