Halley's Comet

Halley's comet can be regarded as a symbol for the narrator's urge to have a shaped and structured sense of his own identity. Caught in a web of uncertainty and indeterminacy, and within a language that disallows truth, the narrator longs for a trace of an originating self. Since Halley's comet occurs once every 75 years, and flashes by only for a short period of time, it is likely that not every person will experience it. In this sense, the narrator suggests that he may never find this trace.

The Family's Death via Sausage-Poisoning

The story of the narrator's family's death by sausage-poisoning - which Mahood tells in order to convince the narrator that he has a personal history - signifies the deterioration and biological decay that will inevitably arise at the end of life. Considering that sausages are amalgams of various body parts, and that...