The postcard that Don Pepe sent Nayeli and her mother several years ago symbolizes Nayeli’s idealism and impending disappointment. The photo on the card is a scared-looking turkey in a cornfield, and the message on the back is Don Pepe's favorite phrase, "everything passes." The anxiety apparent in the image indicates that Kankakee, Illinois isn't the amazing, perfect place Nayeli thinks it is, while "everything passes" suggests that Don Pepe's loyalty to his family passes, just like everything else. Up until Nayeli finds her father, the postcard shows how Nayeli can interpret reality in such a way as to make it fit her worldview, even when all signs indicate that reality isn't as good as the vision in her head. When she leaves the postcard in Kankakee, it represents her symbolically accepting her father's wisdom that “everything passes” and giving up on her idealized vision of him.
Postcard Quotes in Into the Beautiful North
He never said he wished he'd had a son, though she could tell he thought it often.
Postcard Symbol Timeline in Into the Beautiful North
