“We have always lived on the small farm between the ocean and the coal-mining town. My father has always worked on his land in the summer and at one he would spend his winters working within the caverns of the coal mine. Later when he could bear the underground no longer he had spent the time from November to April as an independent coal-hauler or working in his woodlot where he cut timbers for the mine roof’s support.”
Coal-mining is a dominant commercial activity in James' hometown. Accordingly, households including James' rely on it for their sustenance. James' father's resolution to work as coal-hauler surmises that the caverns are not a pleasurable place to work in.
“There are times when I am half out of bed and fumbling for socks and mumbling for words before I realize that I am foolishly alone, that no one waits at the base of the stairs and no boat rides restlessly in the waters by the pier. At such times only the grey corpses on the overflowing ashtray beside my bed bear witness to the extinction of the latest spark and silently await the crushing out of the most recent of their fellows. And then because I am afraid to be alone with death.”
The narrator's imaginations reflect his dread of death which activated at night. His unconscious has visions of his father which he perceives to be real. His fear is so extreme that it disrupts his sleep. The corpses refer to the ashes which arise out of smoking. The thoughts regarding the likelihood of expiring like the ash are unnerving for the narrator.
