Digital Recorder

The digital recorder symbolizes the need for a witness to come forward. Because the city is rife with corruption, it is unlikely that someone would take the risk of telling the police about crimes being committed. Borsellino could have been a witness that came forward, but he was murdered because he knew too much. The digital recorder becomes an extension of Borsellino that can speak for him after he is murdered. Without the recorder, it is likely that Montalbano would not be able to prove Borsellino’s murder

Hanging

Hanging is symbolic of putting oneself in danger. Borsellino’s decision to work for the family represents the role he played in his own death. His decision to help the mafia makes him complicit in his own death because he understood the risks of working for a crime family. It is as though his decision represents...