The title of the story X Number of Possibilities by Joanna Scott is metaphoric. It signifies an infinite number of outcomes that can be attributed to the many times an individual attempts to reinvent himself or herself to make himself or herself a better person. It also signifies how the infinite number of freedom that one has to reinvent oneself can prove to be a hindrance and distracterâbecoming just like a prison.
This is a story of Theodore von Grift, an “average man who is a moderate combination of nutrients and poisons, “He is presumed to be insane, for he claims he has a bullet lodged in his head after he shot himself. However, the X-ray machine is invented, and it proves his sanity.
The x-ray becomes a metaphor associated with his memory. The memory of a young lad continually haunts grift. The boy is a representation of his earlier life, a past that he cannot fully remember or forget. X may also represent the number ten in Roman numerals, so because Romans used alphabetic letters to represent numbers. Therefore the title could also mean “ten numbers of possibilities.” Referring to the ten ways in which Grift tries and attempts to change his personality.