Think you’ve got your head wrapped around The Purloined Letter? Put your knowledge to
the test. Good luck — the Stickman is counting on you!
Q. What do many literary critics say the letter symbolizes?
Different processes of vision and knowing and the process of desire.
Unconscious repression
Deceit
An invitation to Disneyland
Q. What does the check symbolize?
Nothing. It's just a check.
How the letter has become an item for sale in the marketplace.
The pending insanity of D—.
The check is a receipt from McDonalds.
Q. What do the games in The Purloined Letter symbolize?
A cage full of monkeys
Fun and excitement
Dupin's methods of detection and a particular attitude toward the world
G—‘s childish personality
Q. What does the smoke in the apartment symbolize?
D—‘s apprenticeship as a wizard
Cancer
The rhythm of their thoughts—free floating, but focused
Censorship
Q. What do the green spectacles symbolize?
Dupin's unwillingness to explore multiple versions of reality.
Puff the Magic Dragon
Green is often associated with nature, and Dupin definitely thinks G—'s way of searching for the letter is highly unnatural.
A hippie love-fest.