Gentle fire
In the second essay, the narrator creates the idea that love is a fire. Love is maintained alive and burning by two people who never cease to pile wood on the burning fire. Love is imagined as being a fire that warms the people gathered around it and the love experienced by a couple can help others too by giving them hope. He fire is kept alive with gentle words and physical manifestations of affection and if the fire is always feed, then it will never go out.
Poor man
In one of his essays, the narrator remembers the times when he had little money and through that essay, he described the poor man living in a society which abounds in riches. The narrator mentions Robinson Crusoe to highlight that men is ashamed of his poverty because there are others around him to point what he lacks. Because Robinson Crusoe was alone, he was not troubled by the fact that he didn’t have new clothes or a fancy umbrella, things that are not only not necessary but they are also impractical most of the times. In his essay, Jerome paints the image of a man ashamed of his financial condition because the others make him feel so. The poor man is a simple man who hurries on the streets as to avoid being seen in clothes that are not considered fashionable by the rich ones.
Race
When Jerome talks about the desire every human has to get on in life, he imagines every person as being a runner in a universal race. The imagery becomes more potent with every social category that gets included in the race. The narrator starts by mentioning the poor and then slowly moving towards the royalties and those who control every aspect of a man’s life. In the image created, all the men running in the race are aggressive, wanting to overrun everyone and make sure that they are the only ones leading.
Shy man
The image of a shy man is one that invokes pity. The shy person is imagines as being a prisoner of his own body, separated by the outside world by an invisible wall. Despite being invisible, the prison he is trapped in is real and it stops him from being happy and from being accepted by the others around him. He tries to escape his prison but he is unable to, so he stands on his side of the wall bruised and watches as the others pass by him without noticing his struggle.
