


As a motif, death allows the speaker to reflect on her own responses to mortality and the deaths of those around her. Death (motif)ĭeath is a commonly recurring motif throughout Don't Let Me Be Lonely.

Additionally, the ads, snippets of conversation, ideas, themes, etc that Rankine sees on the TV are notable because they are intrinsically tied to this issue of national identity as well as a feeling of "numbness" or exceptionalism that distances viewers from whatever they see on the TV screen. As a symbol, the television represents collective American identity, as it is normalized throughout the text as an "everyday" object that people turn to for their news, entertainment, gossip, and more. The motif bleeds into the theme of television and its reverberance in our life. The speaker uses the television as a motif to anchor discussion of the media and political situations. Throughout Don't Let Me Be Lonely, the television is a recurring motif and symbol. Buy Study Guide The television (motif and symbol)
