The Office

The office represents hell in this story. This is enforced by the fact that the office contains people who are involved with different sins. For example, the love cycle involving a number of employees represents the sin of lust, and Kevin Howard, the serial killer, represents the sin of murder. The prevalence of these sinful characters in one place suggests that the office represents hell.

Matthew Payne

Matthew Payne represents the devil. He is described as being “all around” (7) the office at once, even though nobody ever sees him. This omnipotence, coupled with Payne’s role as the manager of the office, suggests that Payne represents the devil.

The Fire Escapes

The fire escapes symbolize the theme of tragedy in this story. The fact that there is such an abundance of fire escapes in the office suggests that disasters occur frequently enough to make it...