This conflict arises from the contrast between the opposing forces of light and darkness, good and evil, angel and devil. While the devil represents the words, it is the pen Crane mentions that symbolizes a proverbial angel on the writer's shoulder. The feather demonstrates a kind of angelic benevolence in that it "could crush [the devils]", but instead allows them to run free. However, this does not mean that there is no conflict between opposing forces, like some evil words "struggled in ink" produced by the holy pen. This non-violent battle between words and the writer's pen is symbolic of the mental turmoil a writer must go through in order to prevent their deepest thoughts from affecting the writing. Crane accurately describes the mental struggle produced by the act of writing, as an author will inevitably embed himself in his writing, however, he will also attempt to dilute his inner thoughts to prevent them from bubbling up into his literary book.