Life And Death In Harding's Short Story

The use of a symbol has the ability to profoundly address a potent message while challenging the mindset of the audience. In Harding’s short story his main character George Crosby, is plagued with Parkinson's disease and renal cancer. Harding imposes an alternate reality despite Crosby’s terminal illness and final days of life. Opening his novel with “George Washington Crosby began to hallucinate eight days before he died” leaves an impacting affect that helps the audience create an emotional connection to Harding’s overall message (Harding 7). Harding’s novel Tinkers, uses symbolism to highlight the juxtaposition of life and death. Lying in a rented hospital bed in the living room of a house he built, Crosby envisions his house collapsing in on him. “The cracks widened into gaps. The locked wheels of his bed sank into new fault lines opening in the oak floor beneath the rug” (Harding 8). As cancer robs Crosby’s control, he is unable to protect himself. “All of it came crashing down into the cellar, he unable to even raise a hand to protect his face” (Harding 9) . The severity of Crosby’s hallucination paired with his inability to control the situation come to symbolize Crosby’s transition between life and death. Despite inching closer to death, Crosby is forced to feel very alive.

The audience comes to learn that in spite of Howard leaving his son, he kept track of his whereabouts.The last thing Crosby remembers before his death is him and his father sitting on a couch during Christmas dinner catching up on things. Crosby and Howard’s reconnection does not last long, but in Howard’s final word he states. “It was good to see you again, George” (Harding 191). Over the course of the novel, Crosby’s opinion of his father as “a madman about to be taken to the madhouse.” fades as he matures and ages. Remembering his consolidation with Howard allows Crosby to continue his life through