What is the symbolism of found in "The Egg" by Sherwood Anderson?

The short story, “The Egg” by Sherwood Anderson is a humorous
look at the life of a man who desperately wants to be a success but cannot separate himself from
failure. His ventures indicate that like his egg trick which involves making an egg stand up
without breaking the shell, he is incapable of making either his life or the trick
work.

The egg represents several things in the story. First, it
symbolizes the man’s life and his failures. Everything on his chicken farm dies. He so
desparately wants it to be successful; however, everything he tries does not
work.

Like the oyster, the egg holds possibilities: Is there a pearl
inside? Is there an edible egg? The egg represents the death of hope for the once happy farm
worker.

The author writes: “Grotesques are born out of eggs as out
of people.” The grotesques that the character in the story describes, collects, and keeps in jars
come from the egg. The chicken makes not only regular eggs, but the disgusting ones which hold
the quirks of chicken life.

When the man moves to the restaurant,
he lines the front of the fountain bar with the jars of the grotesque chickens as a reminder of
why they are in the restaurant business and not on the chicken farm. He practices several tricks
all involving eggs. Even when he tries a new occupation, the egg still becomes a part of his
life.

The most embarrassing event in the story occurs in the new
café that the family opens. A man comes in, and the father decides that he must entertain the
man. He tries several tricks all involving eggs. None of the tricks work when he tries to
entertain his customer; then, he shows him his collection of the grotesque chickens which does
nothing for the appetite. Finally, the customer leaves thinking that the owner is crazy. It is so
embarrassing that the man goes upstairs where the family lives with an egg in his hand.

I imagine he had some
idea of destroying it, of destroying all eggs, and that he intended to let mother and me see him
begin. When he got into the presence of mother, something happened to him. He laid the egg gently
on the table and dropped on his knees by the bed. He later decided to close the restaurant for
the evening…

The theme of the story
dwells on the disappointments in the father’s life. The cycle of the egg becomes a vicious
representation of the family’s life. The father worked on a chicken farm for much of his life.
When he owned his own, the father realizes that the problems far outweigh the successes. One of
the things he does is to collect all of the atrocities that the eggs bring forth and places them
in jars---two headed chickens with four legs and other grotesques.