Mortality

The author explores the theme of mortality through Tom Benecke’s thought processes throughout his time on the window ledge. Finney also uses symbols such as Benecke’s cigarette and the burning papers in his pocket. The cigarette is also significant because it uses mortality to emphasize Benecke’s love for his wife.

Finney creates a sense of fatal danger through Benecke’s thoughts as Benecke undergoes the life-threatening events of the story. When Benecke first decides that he needs to climb onto the window ledge to retrieve the sheet, he considers it to be a somewhat simple task, because he imagines that it would be trivial if his apartment were “only a yard above ground” (20). However, later in the story, Benecke periodically becomes paralyzed with fear at the prospect of imagining himself slipping and falling to his death. This narration of Benecke’s thoughts personalizes...