What are Ashes?

Ashes, in each of the different ways in which they appear in the narrative, represent death. The narrative draws a literal connection between the two with its portrayal of Death smoking a cigarette and flicking the ashes on the floor of Jacob's apartment. There is also a fairly literal connection when, late in the narrative, there are descriptions of what Jacob had been asked to do, and actually does, with the ashes of Doc and the men in their circle of friends. Eventually, though, the association between ashes and death becomes something more positive, in that the description of Jacob's releasing of his friends' ashes comes at a point in the narrative when he finally starts feeling able to release his grief over their deaths. As the narrative concludes with Jacob embracing his memories through visiting familiar places and writing poetry, there is a sense that he is putting to rest the "ashes" of his grief and getting on with his life.