Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or colors
used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.
The Crow
Remaining true to its own cunning, the crow is a shifting
and ambiguous symbol. Inman strongly identifies with this bird,
looking to it with envy as a creature of independence, freed from
the constraints that the world imposes. Ruby highlights the crow’s
merits when she points out its resilience and tremendous capacity
for survival. While the crow suggests doom and destruction, it also
demonstrates the dark instincts troubling man’s soul.
Forked Roads and Crossings
Forked roads feature prominently in the text. Inman is
often required to choose a direction or to take some course of action directed
by the road ahead. Crossings symbolize the boundaries Inman traverses
between the realms of the terrestrial and the spiritual.
Dark-haired Women
For Inman, dark-haired women symbolize Ada, the woman
to whom he is returning. Each dark-haired woman is brave, self-sufficient
and captivating. These women seem to act as beacons or markers along
Inman’s journey, leading him home to Ada.
