The Cigarette Symbol Analysis

The cigarette that Mr. Moreton repeatedly requests from the narrator symbolizes the joy and dignity that the hospital’s dehumanizing environment has deprived him of. The very first time the narrator cleans Mr. Moreton’s hospital room, he begs her to violate hospital policy by using money from his drawer to purchase cigarettes and bring them to his room. The hospital’s matron has told the narrator to expect this behavior from Mr. Moreton, and firmly instructed the narrator to deny the request. Though the narrator recognizes the irony of providing a man dying of lung cancer with the very object that sickened him to begin with, she tells him she “would if she [could],” and that she is simply too afraid that she will be fired if her superiors discover she has disobeyed their orders. Despite the narrator’s refusal, Mr. Moreton continues to ask her to bring a cigarette each morning she cleans his room, remarking that given his deteriorating condition, “It’s not as if they can hurt me now.”

Though the narrator denies Mr. Moreton his cigarette throughout the short story, her experiences at the hospital—and particularly her friendships with Mr. Moreton and her coworkers—teach her the many ways in which people attempt to navigate the difficult conditions of their lives with small moments of joy, companionship, comfort, and dignity. Furthermore, in a more practical sense, she sees that Mr. Moreton is very close to death, and the experience of watching him suffer motivates her to see the cruelty and futility of denying him one small happiness. In the climax of the narrative, she decides to break Mr. Moreton out of his room and give him the opportunity to take a private bath. The positive effect of her gesture is so clearly visible in Mr. Moreton’s reinvigorated mood and behavior that the narrator also decides to sneak him outside and give him his coveted cigarette. As he smokes, she observes him undergoing another subtle transformation. He suddenly appears handsome, contented, and “like a different man.” In this way, though Mr. Moreton is clearly addicted to nicotine and enjoys the experience of smoking, the cigarette represents the many ways in which the hospital environment is capable of dehumanizing patients and alienating them from their former, healthier selves. The narrator’s decision to give Mr. Moreton the cigarette, then, is symbolic of her decision to prioritize his joy and dignity over hospital procedures and the expectation that she constantly uphold them.