Numero Cinco

William Carlos Williams wrote "The Great Figure" in 1919 and it was later published in 1921. The speaker talks about how one rainy evening he sees a golden number five on a red fire truck moving by quickly with the sirens howling and the gong clanging. I really don't find this to be a very deep work of literature but I see it more as a person recalling an experience that could have changed their life. For all we know after seeing this sight the speaker decides he wants to be one of te brave and become a fire fighter. Maybe the speaker wants to be the one getting looked at as he cruises by in a big red fire engine with the sirens blaring. Maybe this changed nothing about the speaker. It's possible it could just be a memory and had no effect on what the speaker did or wanted to do. We've all seen emergency vehichles fly by. I don't know about you but they don't change what I want to do, but I do remember seeing them on their way to do their duty to their community and not having any doubts or fears.