Significant Cigarettes is an extract from a book called The Road Home by Rose

Tremain about immigrants who are migrating from Eastern Europe to England
for a better life. This extract follows the protagonist Lev’s long journey to
England on a coach next to a woman called Lydia. This essay will discus how
Tremain conveys nostalgia by considering the: importance of cigarettes, the
importance of darkness, and Lev’s memories.

During the journey Lev is “yearning” for a cigarette even though he knows he
cannot smoke aboard the bus. The word “yearning” signifies how much he wants
to smoke and how desperate he is. Moreover “cigarettes” are an extended
metaphor throughout the passage and are a symbol for the loss of his wife and
need of a “companion;” showing Lev’s nostalgia for his life before his wife died.
In addition the title of the extract of the piece is “Significant Cigarettes,” infers
that the experience will be short lived like a cigarette. The bus is clearly cramped
and claustrophobic as smoking was a cultural norm in most of Eastern Europe
and therefore it was very unusual that smoking was banned as people were
allowed to smoke on airplanes; this signifies the abnormality and strange nature
of the culture Lev was going to experience.

Furthermore, Lev reminisces over the how night and day would come in
“precisely the same way” day in and day out. This shows how Lev misses even
the mundane and almost insignificant details of his day-to-day life in his village.
The passage then goes on to say that this precise way night came will always be
in “Lev’s heart.” This conveys Lev’s attachment to his village and how he misses
it. Lev then goes on to explain that he will do “any work,” conveying the
desperation to make money and send it back home. This is contextually relevant
as it shows the severity of the migrant crisis and also poverty in Eastern Europe
at the time.

Lastly, the writer conveys nostalgia as Lev reminisces about his life when his
wife was alive. Lev spent a lot of the journey thinking about a time when his wife
Marina wished they were “storks.” The fact that Lev remembers this memory
infers that he wishes to be free and roam around where he wants to and to stay
with his family like storks do. This shows how Lev does not want to be
immigrating.

In conclusion Tremain presents nostalgia by using an extended metaphor -

cigarettes, the importance of darkness and Lev’s memories.