Symbolism in Edwidge Danticat's 'One Thing'

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Analytical Response to One Thing by Edwidge Danticat
One Thing is a fascinating short story that Edwige Danticat wrote and published in 2020 in the New York Times. It tells the story of a lovely couple, Raymond, a high school teacher, commonly called Ray and Marie Jeanne. Ray becomes sick, and Marie rushes him to the hospital, where he is admitted to the emergency section of New York hospital. The couple's best way to communicate, after Ray is admitted, is through the telephone. The two dream of visiting caves to experience the serene scenes found there. Ray tells his wife that a cave named after her in Haiti could be great if she visited. The story is rich in symbolism, making the reader relate the couple's situation with symbols present. Caves symbolize people's oldest homes, and the long phone calls symbolize connectedness while sickness and hospitals symbolize agents of separation.
Caves symbolize people's oldest homes. Ray and Marie-Jeanne extensively discuss caves in their telephone conversation. They dream of their summer plan to visit caves in South Haiti in a trip that would be financed by their family and friends in the couple's recent wedding registry (Danticat, 4). In their discussions, Ray and Marie Jeanne argue that caves are less popular in contemporary society. Still, people elsewhere use caves for shelter following the effects of calamities like floods or war (Danticat, 1). Ray also convinces his wife that caves have beautiful scenes that she would love. This symbolizes a good life that is long gone but can be rekindled (Sijuwade, 53; Qadri). The couple was happily living together until Ray became sick and hospitalized. This damaged their good times, making them become stories they could only remember and discuss. However, the situation will only change if Ray recovers and joins his wife. In the same way, people do not live in caves but only go back to them when life becomes challenging.
The second symbolic instance in the story is long phone calls between Ray and Marie-Jeanne which symbolizes con...