Have you ever known the ending to a story before it was complete? That is exactly what the short story of "Signs and Symbols" by Vladimir Nabokov does but leaves the reader hanging at the end with many unanswered questions. "Signs and Symbols" starts off with an elderly couple going to visit their son in a mental institution for his birthday. Upon arrival, the parents learn that their son had attempted suicide and that the institution is not allowing people to visit him. After returning home and letting the whole situation sink in, the couple decides that they want to remove their son from care the following day. That night, the parents receive two mysterious phone calls from someone with the wrong number. The story abruptly ends after the phone rings for a third time leaving the reader with their own means of interpretation. Although the story ends with a cliffhanger, there are multiple signs throughout that point towards their son's death. .
"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. This condition leaves their son constantly having to decipher, through codes and patterns, what these objects are saying about him. Consequently, the narrator of the story is writing with the intention of proving that the mentally ill son is going to die, or is already dead, through the use of various codes and patterns throughout the story. The codes and patterns, or clues, used are a dead train, rain, and the dying bird the parents encounter on their way to visit their son. 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. .
The first set of clues are revealed when the parents go to meet their son.
