In Steve Almond's short story "The Problem with Human Consumption", it revolves around the theme of loss, morning and grief. Almond's story focuses on a widowed father who decides to raise his single daughter with ease. The story was about a day where feelings of morning and deception are brought out between the characters. The feelings of loss, morning, and grief present in this story strongly manifested the way this story was written and interpreted. After breaking down Almond's story and reanalyzing it, it can be determined that through his use of the parallel of astrology (space) mixed with his way of selective word choice and use of symbolism, he is able to strongly support and his work effectively. According to the Oxford dictionary definition, astrology is the study of the movements and relative positions of celestial bodies interpreted as having an influence on human affairs and the natural world. Based on this definition, it appears that astrology has a strong correlation with body movements, human affairs, and dimensional space. In the story, there is a scene where Jess's father explores her room, and in this scene it is observed that "There are two desks, one dedicated to his schoolwork, the second to his recent fanatical interest in astrology ." (Almond 142). After analyzing this quote and defining what exactly astrology deals with; it can be determined that the mention of astrology in this story serves as a parallel in which the body movements, actions of the characters, the author's use of words and symbols are analogous to astrology. Over the course of the story it turns out that Jess is intrigued by astrology; Jess's passion for astrology is used symbolically as a way to discuss the movement and affairs related to... middle of paper... the author was discussing the tragic death of his wife, reassuring the theme of loss and pain and also with the parallel of astrology involved in his work. It can be seen that the theme of loss, of morning, of grief actually manifested itself in the way the text was written in terms of the use of parallels and symbols. The parallel and the use of the symbol contributed strongly and effectively to the manifestation of his story. Astrology and space acted as a small aspect located between the lines of the story, but in reality, when broken down and analyzed, they have a deeper meaning to the text as a whole. The overall themes of the story, which include loss, morning, and grief manifested throughout the making of this story. Overall, Almond's form of writing, which included the use of parallels and selective word choice, served as an effective support in making his story convincing..