Suitcases in the novel symbolize change and social mobility as characters pursue self-definition. From the moment Vernice and Annie prepare to leave Honeysuckle, their luggage reflects the differences in their lives. Vernice gets multiple new suitcases for college, representing preparation, financial support, and access to structured opportunity. Annie, by contrast, has a suitcase that “was gray and showed black where it had been dinged up when her grandmother’s employers had taken it on vacation somewhere. […] This valise had been GodKnowsWhere” (38). Annie’s hand-me-down suitcase signals instability and limited resources.

Though both girls leave home in search of something more, the suitcases reveal that their journeys are fundamentally risky. In this way, suitcases connect to the theme of Black Women’s Struggle for Upward Mobility. While Vernice’s suitcases reflect her entry into a world where movement is planned and supported, aligning with her path toward education and social advancement, they are also the site of Jim Crow South segregation and racism. When she is kicked off the bus for sitting in the “white” section, she must leave her carefully packed luggage behind. Moreover, she cannot retrieve the suitcases by herself; being Black means not being believed to be their owner. Only Marylinda, who can pass for white, can walk into the bus station and claim them. Likewise, Annie’s suitcase reflects the precarity of mobility driven by emotional need rather than institutional support. Her improvised and uncertain travel is shaped by external obstacles, such as financial limitations and the dangers of Jim Crow that can only be mitigated by guides like the Green Book. Moreover, the physical burden of carrying her single suitcase also mirrors the emotional burden Annie carries in her search for her mother.

As the story progresses, suitcases continue to mark transitions. Annie’s suitcase accompanies her through unstable environments, going with her to Lulabelle’s, Memphis, back to Lulabelle’s, then ultimately to Atlanta for her death. This fact reflects her life of transition and impermanence, becoming a portable version of her life, containing everything she owns as she moves from place to place. In contrast, Vernice’s luggage is tied to structured movement, leaving for college, and then into the McHenry home, as she travels between spaces already prepared to receive her. The fact that even when she loses her bags, they are restored, reinforces the idea that her path, though challenged, remains fundamentally supported.