The Amethyst Ring Symbol Analysis

The amethyst ring that Father brought back from the U.S. for Mother symbolizes Mother’s connection to Father. Father has been missing in action for the last nine years, and nobody knows if he’s deceased, a prisoner of war, or otherwise stuck in North Vietnam and unable to travel to South Vietnam or tell Mother where he is. Mother and Hà in particular use the ring to feel connected to Father—indeed, for Mother, it’s the only memento of Father’s that she can bear to have around all the time. She uses it as a proxy for Father when she chants and speaks to him, asking for his advice, guidance, and often for him to return.

Therefore, it’s devastating when Mother loses the amethyst ring at the factory where she works one day, not long after she receives word from Father’s brother that he doesn’t know where Father is, either. When a thorough search of the factory turns up nothing, Mother chants and decides to take losing the ring as a sign that it’s time to accept that Father is dead and isn’t coming back. And while losing the ring is traumatic, it nevertheless brings Mother closure.