2. Hurston uses a bird as a symbol of death. "She was liable to find a feather from his wings in her yard any day now." (84). Because birds were chosen as the symbol of death, a feather would be the equivalent of an omen preceding death. Janie was "liable" because everyone has a ticking clock which cannot be slowed or altered at the end of which you die.
3. Hurston uses wingless birds to symbolize rumors. "Rumor, that wingless bird, had shadowed over the town." (84). Wingless birds simply mean that, like rumors, they cannot support their own weight and are false. However, the town did not recognize this and believed the husband of Janie to be either near death or dead.
4. Hurston uses the personification of death living in a high tower. "He stands in his high tower that overlooks the world." (84). By stating that death "overlooks the world" Hurston simply means no one is outside the range of his jurisdiction; his power affects anyone and everyone. Janie recognizes that her husband is no exception.
5. Hurston creates a situation of dramatic irony. "He wasn't going to die at all. Thats what he thought." (84). Janie's husbands denial of death is viewed in a satiric manner; every line in the passage preceding this had been hammering the point that death is an inevitable occurrence. Hurston included this dramatic irony to demonstrate his ignorance.
The general thesis of the passage is that through the personification and symbolism of death, Hurston displays his immortality and inevitably.
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