Section 15 pages 180-195 q 5

Snakes have always been a symbol of evil in Western culture (think Garden of Eden!) The man connects with the snake dream because he experienced these snakes when he was the boy's age. The man equates snakes with the evil of human nature. The only way to purge this evil is to burn it. That pretty well has happened to the world in this book- the world burns and the flames end the misery that is humanity.