When Sophie reaches New York everything about her perception about the place changes. Sophie had envisioned the place to be much better than the conditions she was previously living in. All the folk in Haiti claimed that she was extremely fortunate and that things would be much better in New York. However, it is ironic because it isn’t much better and the major difference would be that Sophie’s mother owns a car. The car isn’t a nice one either. The apartment building where her mother stays is beat up with graffiti and homeless people are sleeping right outside. Another interesting thing to note is that Sophie’s mother was nothing like she had expected to be. It is also interesting to note the terrible dreams that Martine has. We learn that her nightmares are caused by her past when she was in Haiti and raped by a man that impregnated her with Sophie.