The entire story employs a normal tone and narrative technique, but it effectively conveys emotion through dialogue and Imagery. The first contrast that breaks the story is “He says, ‘Your dad will get back to work, all right, just not in this country.’” (Bonner 170) After the author’s family came to the US, they were seeking legal asylum for a long time. Previously, everything had gone well; they had come to the US from Afghanistan, found employment, and were scheduled to attend an appointment in Los Angeles. Readers may expect that they have a successful appointment, but it was actually not. This conflict not only tells that the immigration process was getting blocked but also suggests a position that the author was telling the truth by herself, which reflects her responsibility, and this was also strengthened in the second appointment.
From the story arc perspective, they moved to the US and kept seeking legal citizenship (rising action), and then faced conflict and hardship, and finally succeeded after the last appointment (climax). This shows how hard asylums were and also tells that humane senses are really important. It allowed the author to develop a lot because all the translation work was done by her.
After the second appointment, the storytelling becomes pretty slow and almost describes all the details. The sentence “This is what the communists did to me.” (Bonner 172) also reflects her father’s disappointment. The author describes not only the voice but also the visual details, such as unbuckling the belt, pushing down the pants, and taking off the shoes. This is strong imagery that describes the breaking emotion after they had been disadvantaged in the appointment. It also reflects their anger towards the judges because their future of either being sent back to Afghanistan or being caught, or staying in the US and receiving a beautiful life was decided by that one person, and he was really afraid of being sent back.
The stamps of “Asylum granted” are also a great imagery. “…and when they move their hands, it reads, ‘Asylum granted.’” (Bonner 173) The author used extremely detailed illustrations of his father’s hands, the stamp, and the motion. Because this stamp means acceptance by the US government and a label of legal position, it means a lot, especially when combined with the previous stories described.