Changes: A Love Story- Symbols

They have many symbols throughout this book. Like the following...

The Car
Is Esi too an African woman? She not only is, but there are plenty of them around these days... these days... these days. Esi's husband, Oko, has these thoughts in the first few pages of the novel as he watches his wife from bed. Compared to the women who raised Oko, Esi's independence is startling and even unthinkable. Oko answers his own question regarding Esi's African identity. There is a strong sense of nostalgia implied in Oko's thoughts by the series of ellipses surrounding the words "These days." In part, this is nostalgia for an era in which women were relegated to the household while men were responsible for earning a living. Immediately following this thought, Oko tells Esi that his friends are beginning to mock him for not being a man, and shortly afterwards, he proceeds to rape her.
The Wedding Band
The Wedding Band When Ali proposes to Esi, he offers her a wedding band, a symbol of marriage perhaps original to Western culture that, when incorporated into Ali's cultural tradition, is only offered to the first wife of a husband. By bringing the wedding band into his marriage ceremony, Ali is not only showing his ability to accept and adapt to Western customs, but he is also demonstrating his attempt to incorporate those customs into an African context. The polygamous marriage upon which Ali is about to embark is contrary to the tradition of marriage symbolized by the wedding band that Ali offers Esi. Ali's decision to take a second wife is both an embrace of traditional African marriages, and a rejection of the standards of Western marriage. As a result, the wedding band that Ali offers Esi becomes a symbolic bridge that unites the two traditions.
Professions
Professions Each of the characters in the novel is at least partially defined by his or her career. Esi's job with the Department of Urban Statistics highlights her rational personality, while Ali's job at a travel agency reminds the reader of his tendency to move from one woman to the next. Both characters work in professions that demand personal sacrifice-Oko as a teacher and Opokuya as a nurse. The fact that each character works in a field that reflects his or her personality demonstrates the substantial role that careers play in defining identity for the new generation.