In "Ralph the Duck", Frederick Busch, the author, uses each of the characters to convey a deeper meaning. Even the most insignificant of characters has some form of symbolism behind them. Busch is definitely using the characters to explain some deeper meaning. To be more precise, Busch is using each of the characters to convey some aspect relating to the narrator.

The first character that Busch uses as a symbol is the narrator's dog. The dog appears to symbolize the narrator's current destructive lifestyle. After the dog has been vomiting, the narrator thinks, "He loves what makes him sick" (Busch 865). Like the dog, the narrator shows an apparent lack of concern for the condition of his own health. He seems to be in a constant state of fatigue, most likely due to the fact that he barely sleeps. Several times throughout the story he consumes large amounts of...