Cash, 165

“It wasn’t on a balance. I told them that if they wanted it to tote and ride on a balance, they would have to”

Cash, fixated on the coffin and its movement, attempts to explain to the family how it should be balanced. This spurt of words, however short, lends itself to several literary devices. The repetition of the word “balance” shows Cash’s fixation on the coffin and how it should be transported best. The fact that the final sentence lacks finishing punctuation leaves the postulation that he is making open, as if Cash was going to keep talking, but rather than include it in the work, the sentence was simply left open.

Cash is reminiscent of Rain Man. He seems to almost be a savant in the way he fixates on his carpentry as much as Dustin Hoffman fixates on his various “ticks”, like refusing to fly on any airline but Quantus. Also, the way Cash repeats himself over and again about the balance of the coffin is suggestive of Hoffman’s character and his repetitions of “Abbot and Costello” and etcetera.