a's husband and Bibi her four year old son. The story doesn't tell us too much about these two characters, we see that Bobint is a considerate husband because after he realized they would be detained by the storm, he "purchased a can of shrimp of which Calixta was very fond."(27) We assume he did this to appease Calixta because he realized Bibi was correct when he pointed out that "Mama'll be 'fraid, yes,"(27) when they arrived home late.The basic plot for this story is Calixta's passionate interlude with Alce during a brief but sever afternoon storm.ForeshadowingWhat I see as foreshadowing in this story are the references to the "somber clouds that were rolling with sinister intention from the west, accompanied by a sullen, threatening roar."(27) This indicates to me that something bad was going to happen. This impression is strengthened by the fact that Calixta feared the storm.Later in the story we begin to see that the event we are waiting for may be sexual by the authors use of words and phrases such as "spasmodically" and "palpitating body" both of which have sexual connotations. This is quickly followed by the sentence that Alce's contact with Calixta "had aroused all the old-time infatuations and desire for her flesh."(29)SymbolismThe storm plays the central role in the symbolism. The storm is the symbol of the fierce sexual passion between Calixta and Alce which like the storm came in "crashing torrents, and the roar of elements" (29) while they prepared to make love. After they made love the storm began to recede as seen by the line "the growl of thunder was distant and passing away."(29). Finally to signify the end of the storm and the interlude between Calixta and Alce we see "The rain was over; and the sun was turning the glistening green world into a place of gem" (29) as Calixta watched Alce ride away. This symbolizes the return to normalcy after the storm is over.The chinaberry tree represents morality and the pen...
