"Once when he sat down to chat, he told us that in the immigrant car ahead there was a family from ‘across the water’ whose destination was the same as ours."

Ifound this on google “what are motifs? a motif is a literary term that is an idea, object, or concept that repeats itself throughout a text. a motif gives clues to theme or reinforces ideas an author wants to emphasize.” i hope this for what your looking for