"Signs and Symbols" starts off with an elderly couple going to visit their son in a mental institution for his birthday. ... "Signs and Symbols" takes place within the United States where a boy suffers from "Referential Mania" which is a condition that makes one believe that objects around them are conspiring against oneself. ... Some other clues that point to the boy's death are playing cards, the wife wearing a black dress with no make-up, and the birthday present that the parents were bringing their son. ... In the United States, women typically wear bla...

• Word Count: 1066
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Symbols have more than one meaning than what appears to be the what is going on.. Symbols in this story are contradictory. ... This represented how everyone can look at him and tell that he is a black person and that is all they will see. The message read, "Keep This Nigger Boy Running" (324). This means that his whole life people would look at him as a black person. ...

• Word Count: 1010
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

The coffin is seen passing, the great cloud darkening the land, the cities draped in black, the sea of faces silent and solemn, and the mournful voices of dirges strongly rising. ... "O the black murk that hides the star!" ... Once a long time ago a little boy was wandering on a bright "Fifth-moth" day on the seashore when, all of a sudden, he heard two mocking-birds, a male and a female, happily singing together. ... The boy was moved, The outsetting bard was thrown into raptures and, in a moment of inspiration, became aware of the mission for which he was born: "Now in a moment I know what I...

• Word Count: 1210
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School