Circle, "Cream"

In "Cream," the conversation the narrator recalls having with the old man in the park about a "circle that has many centers but no circumference" (20) is a symbol of the idea that one must put forth effort to meet one's goals and to have a good life. When the narrator told the old man that it was difficult to imagine the circle he described, the old man replied, "There's nothing worth getting in this world that you can get easily" (20). This helped the narrator put his life and challenges into perspective and move forward after failing the university entrance exam.

Tanka poems, "On a Stone Pillow"

In "On a Stone Pillow," the tanka poems, and the woman who wrote them, are a symbol of the emotional complexity that the narrator was lacking at age 19 when he spent the night with the woman. He explains at...