The gold color of the figure again leads us to think it could be a sacred object. As readers, we can't help but feel intrigued by all the attention given to this simple number. In what kind of reality would a figure like this take on such mystical importance?
tense unheeded (lines 8-9)
Quote #3
The number is at the center of the entire scene. The "tension" of the emergency is centered on it. In the reality of the poem, we are made to think that all the chaotic elements of the emergency fit together in some mysterious way.