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Incarnation Of Burned Children Literary Analysis

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Throughout “Incarnations of Burned Children”, David Foster Wallace uses symbolism, diction and syntax to foreshadow the story’s ending. The subtlety of Wallace’s symbolism is not revealed until the baby’s life concludes. There are two major items that resemble a bigger meaning in the story. For example,the author constantly mentions a hanging door which symbolizes the child’s fate. The Daddy constantly tries to fix the door as well as his son’s fate. When the door is hanging half off its hinges, it resembles the parallel between life and death. This comparison is evident when the child is rushed to the ER and doesn't make it, and the author says, “the hinge gave”. Wallace uses the door multiple times throughout the story to foreshadow the death of the baby. The bird is mentioned as another symbol and represents nature as a whole. The author tries to explain that no matter what’s going on in someone’s personal life, nature and the world around them will continue. In the story the bird saw everything that was going on, it, “appeared to observe the door”, but the bird didn’t do anything about it. Instead, it continued its daily life as if nothing happened. The diction the Wallace uses describes the emotions of the character’s and the environment which they …show more content…

The entire short-story is made up of only nine sentences, some reaching over 250 words. This is important because it reflects chaos and shows the panic of the baby’s parents. They don’t have time to pause in these circumstances, so the author doesn't pause in his writing. Each sentences is a long stream of consciousness which embodies the thoughts of the characters. David Foster Wallace is purposeful in every feature of this short-story. The utilization of symbolism, diction and syntax all foreshadow the ending of the story and help the reader understand the meaning of

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