A common theme I think appears in both stories is freedom. There are different types of freedom, like freedom of religion.There are many examples and symbols that lead me to think this. In the first story "Wall of Fire Rising" flying is used multiple times to resemble freedom the ability to fly away from your problems. The main character in this talks about how he wants to get this balloon and fly and at the end of the story he goes to a bridge and jumps he tries to fly but this leads to his death.  Also freedom doesn't have to be related to flying it can also mean making it out of the horrible living conditions they are living in. So they have two options either send their son to go work now at a young age so when he gets to be the age of his father he will have and advantage then most people because he has been working instead of going to school. The other option that he has is to stay and school, his mother believes if he gets all As then he could maybe get into a University and be free from Hati and cut all ties he has to the school. In the other story "1937" this theme recurs in the symbolism of the words " fiery wings" the guards don't  want the inmates to grow wings and escape the prison and get their freedom back. In this case they had their freedom at one point so making them higher in social class then the family in the last book but they had it taken away because they practice voodoo. And at the end of this story when the main character gets beaten to death she goes to her afterlife, something that she believes in in her religion. At the end the daughter looks at the sun and says something along the lines so I hope I see you there as she was looking at the sun. She thinks that her mother got her freedom again and made it out of the prison and now is in a better place. Her mother gets charged with witchcraft. It happened when she tries to help a sick baby that would have died anyway, she gave it some herbs and it still died. Everyone then blamed her because she get the baby something that know one knew what it was and also because her religion is voodoo. I think that things would have turned out differently if she wasn't apart of that religion if she was like what normal people follow she wouldn't have lost here freedom. I think also that here daughter Josephine is jealous even though her mom died but that now she is finally free.  And she is still her trapped and now alone and she is hoping that when she dies she will be able to see her mother again so they can finally be together. This is the theme that I think appears in both of the stories.