The Caged Canary Symbol Analysis

The caged canary symbolizes McTeague’s lack of free will, suggesting that his human instinct and environment have preordained his moral decline and tragic fate. The canary is among McTeague’s most prized possessions, and he keeps it even after his poverty forces him to sell everything else. Starting in the 1800s, canaries were used in coal mines to detect toxic gases. That McTeague, a former miner, continues to cherish the canary even after he has left the mine, suggests his inability to develop beyond his simple, working-class roots. Although he gains wealth and social clout after becoming a dentist, these are only superficial achievements. McTeague, the novel suggests, is no more refined or accomplished than he was when he was working in the  mine—a reality that his brutish habit of yanking out patients’ teeth with his bare hands underscores.

Notably, McTeague keeps his canary in a cage, signaling the canary’s lack of freedom and how its destiny is governed by forces it does not understand. In a word, it is trapped—just as McTeague is trapped, unable to repress his base, human instinct or his predilection toward violence. McTeague’s insistence on holding on to the bird mirrors the idea that he will not and cannot change. Just as the bird cannot leave its cage, McTeague cannot help but be who he is. Ultimately, the canary’s confinement serves as a metaphor for this inescapable determinism, emphasizing the futility of McTeague’s struggles against the forces that shape his destiny.