Chalkboard

The chalkboard symbolizes the intersection between violence and American history. As Mr. Johnson writes quotes on the board from the U.S. Constitution, he begins, seemingly involuntarily, to intermix those quotation with words such as “KILL THEM ALL” (91).

Imagined Story

The narrator’s imagined story symbolizes the use of storytelling as a means of processing and understanding the world. The story’s narrative elements are inspired by elements of the narrator’s personal experience, and its increasingly dark tone appears to be subconsciously influenced by the increasingly tense atmosphere of the classroom.

Ruth’s Blindness

Ruth’s blindness symbolizes subversion of established norms. Ruth and the narrator are both treated somewhat as societal outliers, Ruth due to her blindness and the narrator due to his attention and reading disabilities. Ruth suffers further ostracism at school when the kids tease and bully her regarding her sculpture of...