Re: More Notes FROm the Underground

May we talk about feet some more? Or have you already exhausted the topic? We read The Child by Tiger, a short story by Thomas Wolfe, at the beginning of the year, and our teacher asked us why we thought Dick Prosser took his shoes off before he let the mob take him.  I cannot remember exactly right now, but I think she suggested that he took his shoes off for a symbolic sign of spiritual cleansing, something about needing to take off your shoes before going home, or, similarly, to heaven.  Possibly, from a Christian point of view, the bottoms of feet, shoes, represent the past life and sins which need to be removed, or forgiven, to enter the after life.  Here's a few of my feet interpretations:  Maybe Bessie wears socks because she does not want her past to be analyzed, especially when addressing her children's futures. Seymour is irritated by the lady in the elevator, because he does not understand why others scorn his past and faults (when shown his naked feet.)  And Buddy, as the narrator, wants to be a "chiropodist" because he is interested in evaluating and understanding the other characters.  I apologize if this has already been addressed.