Low Man
The Lone Prospector, Big Jim McKay and Black Larsen cut cards to determine who will go out into the snow in order to find food. Mckay draws a King, The Prospector a 3, and Larsen a 2. The cards are symbols of the class level or social ranking of the three characters within the story.
Candlestick
The Lone Prospector begins to eat a candlestick while in the shack with Larsen. The candlestick as food represents the extreme hunger that these men are experiencing in the midst of the snow storm, and The Prospector eating it is a symbol of the length he is willing to go to in order not to starve.
Burying the Rifle
The Lone Prospector buries the rifle in the shack after McKay tries to shoot him with it in order to eat him. The burying of the gun is a symbol for the lack of trust between the two men as hunger has taken over their minds.
Sizzling Bacon
Larsen was meant to go out for food for all three men, but takes it all for himself. We see him cooking bacon over a fire by himself and it is a symbol of his betrayal to the other men as they are in the shack starving and waiting for his return.
Wounded
The Lone Prospector wraps his right foot with cloth and a rope as a replacement for the shoe that he and McKay eat. We see it as he walks into the Monte Carlo Dance Hall and it is a symbol that he is not like the others there, he is wounded and we see that he is isolated from the rest of the group because of it.
