Florin- One of the pictures used is that of Florin coin. I chose this picture due to the coin not only being a commonly used currency in Ireland during that time, but also because it is the exact coin that the protagonist held when he was walking down Buckingham Street. The specific Florin used is that Jubilee Florin which was made in 1887.

Silver Bracelet- One of the pictures used is that of  a silver bracelet. I chose this picture due to it representing the bracelet worn by Mangan’s sister, whom the protagonist is in love with, and due to her inadvertently influencing the protagonist to go to the Araby.

I chose the heart because to me it symbolizes both Louise’s physical and emotional oppression in The Story of an Hour. Her heart trouble anticipates the tragic irony that it is not sadness but the shock of lost freedom that kills her. When her husband returned it disrupted her independence, and she dies not out of joy, but out of the burden of societal oppression. 

The open window represents freedom and potential, something she lacks in her stifled marriage. Through it, Louise’s views the outside and breathes “the delicious breath of rain” (Chopin). This denotes her temporary freedom. But Her husband's return destroys that vision and reinforces Chopin’s critique of constraining gender roles. 

The Fist (bottom left) - The big red fist is a hint at Sylvia's combative attitude she shows throughout the story. This same behavior leads her to reject the lesson that Miss Moore tries to show her and the others. Sylvia's aggressive attitude then creates conflict, making her ignorant of the important lesson that is being taught to her.

The Light Bulb (top middle) - The light bulb references the realizations the main character, Sylvia, has made throughout the story. Realizations such as the first time she asked Miss Moore about the price of a boat or when she and the others were window shopping. The occurring realizations are key to Sylvia's character growth throughout the story even though she still acts ignorant of the lesson.

hot air balloon - the hot air balloon is is used as a symbol in the book that's supposed to represent the freedom (hence the wings) that guy longed for himself and his family. it gave him something to look forward to, it gave him a goal to reach.

Although the children make their fair share of tourist observations, they are not the only victims of culture shock. Mr. Das is introduced as holding a “paperback tour book, which said "INDIA" in yellow letters and looked as if it had been published abroad” (page 13). A book similar to the one described in Mr. Das’ grasp is included in the bento box to represent the irony and perhaps closed-mindedness in his willingness to learn about the country from an outside source rather than the locals he is currently surrounded by. He goes on to apoligize for the embarrassment of his children not being adjusted to the differences in culture, leaving Mr. Kapasi to, “as delicately as he could”, assure the father that he was “well aware” of how America differed from India (page 16). Mr. Das seems to be aware of his children’s reactions to their new environment, while not making the effort to acknowledge that he, too, is experiencing a similar culture shock. Despite being from the country by blood, Mr. Das finds himself unfamiliar with most aspects of the culture as represented in his tour book from abroad.  

She is introduced to us a sensitive woman, the first sentence being, “Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband’s death.”. The word choice is significant here as she’s introduced to us with her husband’s last name “Mallard”, Mr. Mallards wife and not Louise the woman married to Brently Mallard. And initially that is exactly what her character embodies, your typical 19^thcentury wife. When Louise was told of her husband dearth she broke out in tears. This leads me to my second and choice. The tower- This card can symbolize something shocking as it is widely associated with sudden and unexpected changes such as the shocking news or Mr. Mallards death. The man is also wearing a mask, also relevant as it represents illusion.

The author adds “She did not hear the story as many women have heard it the same, with paralyzed inability to accept its significance.” in retrospect it seems to be foreshadowing what was bound to happen next. Because in addition to this the author says “When the storm of grief had spent itself she went away to her room alone.”  and the use of “spend itself” seems very intentionally because it alludes to the idea that her grief was no more, it had all been used up, almost as if subconsciously her tears were not due to her grief but a sense of relief. But I am not denying her pain after all her reaction was not that of numbness, she was emotional and cried in her sister’s arms.  Which is why I choose the three of swords, this card represents the initial heartbreak, grief and sadness that Mrs. Louise must’ve felt when she received news that her husband died, as this card is associated with emotional pain. “She sat with her head thrown back upon the cushion pf the chair, quite motionless, except when a sob came up into her throat and shook her, as a child who had cried itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams.”

The moon card is associated with looking inward, and illusion which can reveals uncomfortable things about ourselves.  It represents Louise’s, period of self-refection, when she is in the comfort of her room, alone processing her emotions. Although she tried suppressing it at first, she soon became thrilled at the idea of freedom. “There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully. What was it? She did not know; it was too subtle and elusive to name. But she felt it, creeping out of the sky, reaching towards her through the sounds, the scents, the color that filled the air.” Until she had no choice but to accept the truth “She was beginning to recognize this thing that was approaching to possess her, and she was striving to beat it back with her will- as powerless as her two white slender hands would have been.”  

The Eight of cups card represents her desires, and wishful thinking, wanting to let go of her past, and embrace change.  “When she abandoned herself, a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under her breath. “free, free, free!”.” Everything changed, from her previous motionless body and dull eyes to them being described as keen and bright, and her body was not tense anymore but relaxed.

She daydreamed of a future ahead without her husband, overlooking his supposed death without questioning if it was okay to have such thoughts.  “She did not stop to ask if it where or where not a monstrous joy that held her. A clear exalted perception enabled her to dismiss the suggestion as trivial.” Though she knew she would still be grieving she didn’t let it get to her and showed excitement. “But she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely. And she opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome.” She viewed the news of her husband’s death as a blessing in disguise and compared to before, she felt hopeful about life. “She breathed a quick prayer that life might be long. It was just yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might be long”. She embodies the fool card, which symbolizes both the end and beginning, stepping into the unknown and having unconditional faith despite not knowing what’s coming. And yet it all changes again, when it turns out that her husband was not dead. “When the doctors came, they said she had died of a heart disease—of joy that kills.”  She foolishly believed her husband died and ended up with that fate instead.

Image one

• This image is greenery with dark parts in the front and black underneath the greenery.

• This represents the need and greed for money in the story which plays an important that in holding the family back from freedom.

Image two

This image is a light airfield with green-brown grass. In the sky, there are light clouds with a light blue sky.

- This image displaces the freedom of Guy and his family. The field served as a distraction

Image three

- This image is a sparring down image of dark shades of blue and purple with a black outline that is heading in one direction but it is messy.

This image depicts the struggle with Guy's freedom versus his responsibility to this family.

Image four

- This image is red all over with black underneath and in-between there is different shading all over this image.

The image represents the rage from being held back from pursuing freedom from the son to the Guy being at odds.

Image five

- The last image is of broken sticks which are being which are being held together by dark brown paint.

This represents the broken bonds within the household of Guy and Lili due to the struggle of poverty and both of them take different paths in the way they deal with their poverty.

The In between is a white path that connects throughout the story. The white background represents the truth underneath the actions of people in the story.

Guy has a son named little guy who he is extremely proud of considering that the small boy was doing so good in school. Guy knew that his son had so much potential and it is almost like the small boy represented hope for Guy. He knew that one day the boy would be able to be so much better than he ever got the chance to be ."He wiped a tear away, walked over to the chair, and took the boy in his arms", Guy truly demonstrated just how hurt he was over the fact that he couldn’t do any better for his son even though he had so much talent . However, the reader can still see that Guy was losing hope especially when he began to converse with his wife about adding the boys name on the list. He wanted to do that so his son wouldn’t have to wait as long as Guy to begin working in the sugar mill. Or in another perspective the reader can come to the conclusion that since suicide was in guys mind, he only wanted to add his sons name to the list to set him up for a guaranteed future, with a stable job.

Hot air balloons - In the short story "A Wall of Fire Rising," the hot air balloon represents the desires and hopes of the family's father, Guy. Guy wanted to go on the balloon and was willing to let go of his family. A clear example of the guy exhorting is shown on page 6: "As he approached the fence surrounding the field where the large wicker basket and deflated balloon rested on the ground, Guy let go of the hands of both his wife and the boy." Guy was likely growing exhausted from the economic pressures he felt from trying to maintain his family and looked at the ballon as some escape from his situation, inevitably in a twisted way, escaping his family.

Lemon wedge -

The lemon wedge represents the desire that he desperately wanted to feel towards his wife.

Furthermore, the condition of the chicken coop highlights the community’s moral corruption. The old man is forced to live among “the hens” in mud and filth, exposed to weather and ridicule. Visitors “tossed him things to eat through the openings in the wire as if he weren’t a supernatural creature but a circus animal.” These details show that the villagers are less concerned with understanding him and more interested in exploiting him for entertainment and profit. The coop transforms into a spectacle site, where faith becomes commerce and mystery becomes mockery. Instead of elevating the old man, they lower him to their own level of cruelty and greed.

Ultimately, the chicken coop symbolizes the human desire to confine and control what challenges existing beliefs. By imprisoning the old man in such a degrading space, Márquez suggests that people often respond to the unknown not with reverence, but with fear, selfishness, and exploitation. The image of the chicken coop reinforces the story’s broader message: true blindness lies not in the old man’s strange appearance, but in the villagers’ inability to recognize wonder when it stands before them.

The blind man shows that seeing is more than using your eyes. The eye symbolizes how people think vision is the main way to understand the world. Because he cannot see, the narrator assumed he is disconnected or limited. However, the story shows that he sees through listening, touch, and emotional awareness. "My eyes were still closed. I was in my house. I knew that. But I didn't feel like I was inside anything." By the end, the narrator realizes that true vision comes from openness and shared experience, not eyesight.

Sunglasses: The sunglasses symbolize emotional barriers and blindness that Mrs. Das wears almost like armor. The glasses allow her to see the world without actually being seen or having to communicate with her family. She eventually tries to remove her sunglasses and reveal the confession she had been hiding by wearing them, creating a moment of naked, albeit selfish, vulnerability. Deep down in the story, the glasses show her disconnection from her role as mother and wife.

The puffed rice: The puffed rice is a symbol of worldly issues and disorder. The puffed rice, bought on the side of the road, represents the Indian tourist experience, something that is consumed casually, and also serves as a catalyst for the climax of the story as he spills the crumbs on the ground, which attracts the attention of the monkeys and causes them to attack him, further showing his neglect of his children and the consequences of his neglect.

Monkeys are a symbol of the physical embodiment of sin and chaos.

Monkeys: are a symbol of the physical embodiment of sin and chaos, are not just part of the environment, they are a menacing presence that reflects the inner turmoil of the Das family. The monkeys attack the son (Bobby) who is the result of the betrayal. This attack causes them to throw off the mask of this pleasant holiday.

The camera: is an interesting symbol of rupture and the (terrorist) lens. Mr. Das is constantly looking through his Nikon camera. He tries to enjoy only the beauty of India and his vacation without addressing the real needs of his wife, who is faced with real poverty or her needs. The camera essentially acts as a barrier that prevents him from seeing the (pain) in his own marriage. He sees his life as a series of snapshots rather than a lived experience.

The piece of paper: symbolizes the fragility of the relationship. The torn piece of paper that contained Mr. Kapasi's address represents the fleeting and illusory hope for a meaningful connection. Mr. Kapasi imagines the letter writing from a distance, in which he is appreciated, while for Ms. Das he sees it only as a temporary confession. In the end, when the paper is left hanging in the wind, it is actually a symbol of the (lost translation) between them. This bond was never real.

All physical objects in this story act as silent witnesses to the collapse of this family, as Mr. Capassi seeks to record the world through his camera, while his wife hides behind her sunglasses and refuses to accept the realities of her surroundings. The piece of paper acts as the final evidence of their isolation.

Toward the middle of the short story "Cathedral," when the husband officially meets Robert for the first time, we notice his discomfort. Noting how the husband immediately asked Robert if he wanted something to drink, trying to find something in common as though to ease himself. On page 5, we are met with numerous inner thoughts from the husband, whom is the narrator. The entire paragraph was filed with how uncomfortable he was by being by a blind man for the first time. One quote in particular stated, "I'd always thought dark glasses were a must for the blind. Fact was, I wash he had a pair." Later on in the next paragraph, the husband immediately tries to distance himself from his thoughts by offering Robert something to drink, "Let me get you a drink. What's your pleasure?" To which Robert asks for scotch, leading into a less awkward conversation, essentially breaking the ice. Using this, we can understand that this was only the starting point to the husband's character development as their walls slowly start to come down over the course of the story.

The Strawberry Pie:

After the husband, wife, and Robert had all finished dinner and decided to move over to the couch, they both try to assure that Robert is comfortable by offering him a second serving of strawberry pie. One quote from this could be, "'There's more strawberry pie,' I said. 'Do you want some more, Robert?' My wife said." The wife and husband are using the strawberry pie as a way to open their home and space up to Robert by continuously asking him if he wants more, still trying to fight off any lingering awkwardness. Another quote from the story is, "You say when you want some strawberry pie." This is right after the wife ends up falling asleep between the two of them, guessing out of habit, the husband again asks Robert if he wants another slice of pie even though he asked just moments prior, still trying to make sure Robert feels welcomed in his short stay with them.

The wings represent the disconnect and discomfort that a society encounters with something unfamiliar that can be perceived as a threat due to limited and lack of trying to understand who they may be. "He argued that if wings were not the essential element in determining the difference between a hawk and a airplane, they were even less so in the recognition of angels" Pg.2. The idea that his wings, something that is able to earn the old man's freedom in flight can leave him nothing more than a captive in a foreign land and can be stripped of his dignity and humanity while only being nothing more than a money making machine for Pelayo and Elisenda. With this apperance based disconnect Marquez is critiquing humanity's tendency to dehumanize those who do not conform to societal looks/expectations.

My two explanations will be ...

Chicken coop - One of the photos I have above is a chicken coop. This represents humiliation they had this old man locked in there to be seen as an object to be used. Once others noticed something odd in the chicken coop they all gathered to gain wishes.

Money - One of the other pictures in my opening is money. Money was used as a sign of pleasure. The angel was used to gain something that he couldn't have. As soon as people started to come more, they put up signs and started taking money.

sea - When he finally flies away, he becomes “animaginary dot on the horizon of the sea.” Thesea represents escape from human corruption.​

EXPLANATION PARAGRAPH

The chicken coop in which the old man is imprisoned symbolizes how humanity degrades and cages what it does notunderstand, emphasizing the story’s critique of greed and moral blindness.​

Pelayo “dragged him out of the mud and locked him up with the hens in the wire chicken coop.” ​

Instead of treating the old man with reverence or curiosity, Pelayo immediately confines him to a chicken coop — a spacemeant for animals. This physical confinement shows how quickly humans strip dignity from what they do notunderstand. By placing a possible angel among hens, Márquez deliberately lowers the miraculous to something ordinaryand disposable. The villagers’ behavior reinforces this symbolism; they throw food at him and gather around the cooplike spectators at a zoo. Even Father Gonzaga views him through suspicion rather than compassion. The coop becomes avisual representation of how society cages mystery, controls it, and profits from it. It is not just a physical structure — itrepresents spiritual confinement and moral failure.​

Ultimately, the chicken coop highlights the central theme that humanity often exploits rather than honors theextraordinary. By imprisoning the angel, the villagers reveal more about their own limitations and greed than about histrue identity. The coop symbolizes the way people confine what challenges their understanding, reducing the miraculousto mere spectacle.​

The slip of paper - The slip of paper is the most important symbol of Mr.Kapasi romanticized, idolized vision of a future with Mrs.Das. In the bottom of page 20 Mrs.Das ask for Mr.Kapasi address, she handed him a scarp of paper with a hero and heroine embracing under a tree and he wrote down his address on it. Toward the end of the story when the the paper was blown away by the wind and is destroyed, it symbolize the loss of illusion and hope that he had, the connection that he had imaged with Mrs.Das is now gone.

In the beginning of the story, the conflict is shown in between the narrator and his wife about the tape. Uncomfortable and suspicious on the relationship of Robert and his wife. This internal conflict of steryotyping and insecuritiy of Robert makes our narrator be in a constant state of unease. “They mailed tapes back and forth. I wasn’t enthusiastic abouot his visit. He was no one I knew. And his blindess bothered me.” Further acnowledging to the reader already from the start of his internal conflicit with Robert sets the tone and tension between the two without even meeting each other. Consecutively seen till the climax of the story.

The dark glasses represent the prejudice that the narrator feels with Robert not wearing any. "...He didn't wear dark glasses. I'd always thought dark glasses were a must for the blind. Fact was, I wish he had a pair," (page 5). This shows the narrator's prejudice towards blind people as a result of their "idea of blindness [coming] from the movies," (page 1). "I've never met, or personally known, anyone who was blind" (page 5) shows that the narrator only relies on what they learned about blind people from the movies, and not any personal experience. Without knowing anyone blind and only relying on movies, the narrator doesn't think very much of Robert at all because of his being blind.

In the story, the Das Family takes a trip to India during the summer time. Heat usually symbolizes the intense feelings and uncomfortable emotions. I chose this symbol because of two things: The author mentioned it at the start of the story and it played a part when everyone was cooped up in the car.

In page 3 of Jhumpa Lahiri's The Interpreter of Maladies , Mrs.Das argues with her husband, Mr. Das, about getting a car with no air conditioning.

"Isn’t this an air-conditioned car?" she asked, still blowing on her hand. The window on Tina’s side was broken and could not be rolled down. "Quit complaining," Mr. Das said. "It isn’t so hot." "I told you to get a car with air-conditioning," Mrs. Das continued. "Why do you do this, Raj, just to save a few stupid rupees. What are you saving us, fifty cents?"

From this interaction between Mr. and Mrs. Das, the heat does play a factor with their relationship with the addition of Mrs. Das's dark secret. to look at it at a different angle, For most people heighten temperatures makes them feel easily antsy and irritated. The heat combined with Mrs. Das's hostility and the carelessness of her husband highlights their unsteady relationship.

CAR

The car is another symbol hidden within the story.The family rode around in a car during the tour with the tour guide, Mr. Kapasi. He has stated in page 3, "They were all like siblings, Mr. Kapasi thought as they passed a row of date trees. Mr. and Mrs. Das behaved like an older brother and sister, not parents. It seemed that they were in charge of the children only for the day; it was hard to believe they were regularly responsible for anything other than themselves."

Mr Kapasi could even see that the couple had lacked any sort of romantic chemistry let alone have the emotional maturity to raise children. Being in a car emphasizes the lack of connection and control the parents have between them and the kids. They dont seem to emotionally present and only have to parent when they need to keep up an image.

SHADES

- Next symbol is shades. Mrs das's shades in the story ties into one of the themes of the story. With one of her kids not being mr. das's, bobby, she carries the guilt of having the affair. She was married very young, then had kids shortly after and was expected to raise them all on her own without the help of her husband. She sacrificed her life for something that she didnt want in the end. Mrs. das was miserable and copes by an attempt to isolate herself and become emotionally distant with her family. Thst is what the shades represents. aswell as hiding the guilt of her having the affair to begin with. she hides behind the shades as a way of not fully being face to face with the mistakes shes made.

FAMILY PHOTO CARD

- When it comes to the family photo, Mr. das tells his wife that he wanted a photo with the family for a christmas card but mrs. das declines and gets frusterated with him. In page 7, mr. and mrs das are arguing about the family photo:

"I’ll stay here."

"~Why did you have to wear those stupid shoes?" Mr. Das said. "You won’t be in the pictures."

"Pretend I’m there."

"But we could use one of these pictures for our Christmas card this year. We didn’t get one of all five of us at the Sun Temple. Mr. Kapasi

could take it."

"Im not coming-"

What we know is that she doesnt want a photo due to her secret shes been carrying around for some time. I believe the photo card is a symbolism for the superficial image that the dad holds up to. He wants the traditional perfect family but its difficult when mrs das dislikes her life and her family. Mr. das goes off anyways and joins the kids while they run everywhere, not watching over them.

CAMERA / BOOKLET

- During the tour, mr das seemed to have his attention to taking photos of their trip. He would ask mr kapasi to stop to take a photo and go as far to prioritize his camera over watching his own children. All he seems to worry about is the photos of their family trip while not being entirely prensent in the moment. Towards the end of the story, Mrs. das stormed out of mr. kapasi's car upset and questioned her husband where bobby is:

"'Great,' Mr Das said without looking up. 'Just in time. We’ll get Mr.

Kapasi to take a picture of the five of us.'

Mr. Kapasl quickened his pace, waving his branch so that the monkeys scampered away, distracted, in another direction.

'Where’s Bobby?' Mrs. Das asked when she stopped.

Mr. Das looked up from the camera. 'I don’t know. Ronny, where’s

Bobby?'

Ronny shrugged. 'I thought he was right here.'"

The same with the booklet that he was carring around the whole tour. He was more interested in both his camera and the booklet that he forgets his responsibilities as a father. Both the camera and the booklet symbolizes the detatchment and carlessness of his family since he never had to step up to do anything as a parent or husband.

Throughout the story, we find a very obvious example of Pelayo and his wife being indifferent the old man. "The chicken coop was the only thing that didn't receive any attention. If they washed it down..., it was not to pay homage to the angel but to drive away the dung heap stench" (Paragraph 11). Being trapped in a chicken coop was already terrible, but now they don't even care about him. The old man never gets attention and the only occasions they visit is to get rid of the smell. This is someone who helped them make a lot of money, but now they treat him terribly. The chicken coop as a setting in this story helps a lot in showing how indifferent they can be to things outside their normal life, and makes it a good addition to the bento box.