Feathers from a thousand li away: The swan: The swan is symbolism for culture. Through out the story, it is clear that the Americans are taking the swan from the old woman. This can be seen as a form of Americanism. The idea that all cultures, things that make us different are forced to live as one homogenous society in order for all to co-exist. "But when she arrived in the new country, the immigration officials pulled her swan away from her, leaving the woman fluttering her arms and with only one swan feather for a memory" This further emphasis on the point that the swan is a representation of the Chinese culture as the woman was given bird-like qualities. Not only does it show how agitated immigrants get when they are forced to give up their culture to be a part of this "Let's make America great again" regime but the author uses the word "fluttering" to show that the old woman and the swan are somehow one and the same just because the swan ...