Faith is something a person must have within themselves in order to be successful. Success and failure are two completely different things, but faith is what separates the two. In the story “A Tale of Blank Slips of Paper Sticking Out of Your Pockets” by Kevin Brockmeier, the author illustrates the struggles a man must overcome in society and the obstacles he must overcome when his faith is tested to the limit. In the fable, the author uses symbols of faith, magical elements and realistic struggles to disclose morals and life struggles. Brockmeier uses a symbol throughout the fable, using God's overcoat to symbolize faith to teach a moral lesson. When the man gets the coat, he realizes that it is not always easy to have it, but he realizes that the coat has changed his life along with that of many other people around him. The fable states, “All I want, just this once, is for someone to tell me how pretty I look today” (Brockmeier 262). Answering the woman's prayer, she saw how the simplest request changed her day. Although the coat had an impact on his life, the man became very dependent on the coat to see people as they truly are. When the man loses the coat, he realizes that the coat changed his perspective on how he saw people and he realizes that without it he would be lost. Brockmeier states, “It had brought him some relief – that was true – but it made his life incomparably richer, and he wasn't sure what he would do without it” (Brockmeier266). The man realizes that the coat has changed his normal life into a richer and more complete perspective on what people are truly like on the inside. The simplest things can symbolize faith, like a coat, but they can change someone's life forever. The author uses magical realism... the coat over everyone else. No matter how big or small the job is, it can be done with a little faith and sense of responsibility. In the story “A Fable with White Slips of Paper Coming Out of Your Pockets,” the author uses symbols of faith, magical elements, and realistic struggles to convey morals and the struggles of life. Faith is something that many people take for granted and one of the reasons why many people fail to complete any task in the life they live. Faith is something you need to have every day to overcome life and the overwhelming obstacles it can present. Faith isn't always easy, but it makes life richer and gives us something to live up to. Works Cited Brockmeier, Kevin. "A fairy tale with pieces of white paper sticking out of your pockets." The view from the seventh layer. New York. Pantheon. 2008. 260-267. Press.