Tire Shop

The Paulhans' tire shop is symbolic of stasis. Throughout the entirety of his life, the narrator works at the shop. His whole life is grounded in this one location and vocation. The shop affords him a sense of predictability and stability during the war. However, over the decades following, the narrator becomes trapped in this setting because of what he suffered during the war.

Pothole

The pothole the narrator fills in the road outside the shop is symbolic of denial. The passing German vehicles created the hole. By filling it in, the narrator is trying to erase the Germans' presence in his village and their destructive effect on his life.

Military Vehicles

The German military vehicles are symbolic of upheaval. The first vehicles on the narrator's road are harbingers of destruction and violence. The more vehicles that pass over the years following, the worse the...