Land
Land is more than just a chunk of real estate; in the novel, as it is in real life, it is a tangible symbol for both power and wealth. Land is what allows Teo and Maria to produce crops that feed and sustain them and provides them with products to sell in the market for profit. Land is the primary advantage that Anne and Stefan have over Teo and Maria; later on, land—and greed—is what motivates Stefan to cheat Teo out of his little plot of earth thinking to completely remove any power that it might afford him.
Teodor
Teodor symbolizes the strength of the human spirit and to a very large extent he embodies the migrant success story. He endures all trials and hardships that come his way both natural and man-made, and through a combination of sheer grit and stoicism he is actually able to overcome these trials.
Stefan
The manipulative, self-centered, greedy Stefan is not just the main antagonist in the novel, he also embodies the systemic corruption that plagued Russia during that period of great social upheaval. Stefan, despite being a husband and a father, lives for his comfort and his comfort alone. He holds no loyalty to any master that he serves initially serving the Czarist regime then effortlessly switching his allegiance to the Communist Party when they come into power.
Maria
Maria is the perfect compliment to Teo, being of similar temperament. Like her husband, she too is hardworking and quite clever in making ends meet. She too is able to endure the many hardships that they face with grit and stolid determination. What sets her apart however is her genuine generosity and ability to look beyond the needs of her own family. She takes notice of Anne’s destitution and the equally miserable conditions that her children are in and extends as much help as she can towards her helpless but decidedly ungrateful sister-in-law. These actions make her in the in-novel symbol of the nobility of the human spirit and the greater sense of camaraderie that exist within the migrant community.
Crops
Although Stefan and Anne own land it is practically useless to them because neither of them have the sense to work the land so that it produces crops. They live in near poverty until their paths cross with a desperate Teo and Maria and they agree to lease the land for a bit of profit. When the industrious husband and wife team however begin to earnestly work the soil they manage to pull forth from their patch of land enough produce to keep them strong and fed throughout the long, hard winter and surplus to sell in the market so that they have cash to pay for their needs. Crops therefore are symbolic of actual wealth and prosperity.
