The Cracker house

In "Ghosts and Empties," the "Cracker" (9) (this being the name of the architectural style) house being renovated on the unnamed narrator's block is a symbol of her own slowly deteriorating mental/emotional state. During the renovation process, she explains, "The facade is preserved, but the rest is gutted" (9). Night by night she walks by the house and sees that it has undergone minor changes, as pieces are "stripped away" (9). This is what she feels is happening to herself. The stress of daily life seems to be wearing away at this narrator, causing her to lose bits and pieces of herself. One day the house collapses, an ominous sign for this narrator's future.

Jude's deafness

Jude's loss of hearing in "At the Round Earth's Imagined Corners" is a symbol of his loneliness and isolation, his inability to connect with others. The impairment occurs suddenly, and...