In the short story “Contents of A Dead Man’s Pockets” by Jack Finney, we are introduced to the main character Tom Bennecke, who lives in the 11th story of his New York apartment with his wife Clare. Tom insists that he stays home to work on a project after Clare suggested that he come to see a movie with her. After he bids her goodbye, a gust of wind whisks away a paper that is crucial for the completion of Tom’s project. Tom then risks his life to retrieve the paper from a ledge outside his apartment window. In this literary work the author uses situational irony, satire and character development to illustrate how people easily confuse their priorities and the dangerous results that can come of it.
The first thing we observe in this story is situational irony to give the reader perspective on Tom’s flawed priorities. This is depicted when Tom is talking with his wife before she leaves to see a movie. Tom asks her if she minds going alone; this is ironic because based on first impressions, Tom is friendly and playful towards Clare. This is shown when he is seeing her to the door as she leaves. “He kissed her then, and for an instant, holding her close, smelling the perfume she had used, he was tempted to go with her-” Because of his caring nature, it is strange of him to allow her to walk the streets of New York at night alone and be subjected to possible danger. The audience realizes that in this instance Tom is being selfish by prioritizing work above all else, including his wife’s safety.
In addition, we see the author use satire to imply that sometimes change requires an unpleasant experience to get you to see things for what they are. Once Tom reached the paper, he bent down to grasp it and caught a glance of the 11 story drop below. The sight of this immediately struck him with crippling fear and he realized the absurd conditions of the situation. “A violent instantaneous explosion of absolute terror roared through him. For a moment he saw himself externally—bent practically double, balanced on this narrow ledge, nearly half of his body projecting out above the street far below—and he began to tremble violently, panic flaring through his mind and muscles, and he felt the blood rush from the surface of his skin.” Tom was then forced to acknowledge the danger he was in and began to question the confidence he had when he first stepped onto the ledge. The reader can identify with this because we are often ignorant to our own irrational actions and try to rationalize bad decisions.
Lastly, character development is implemented to show Tom’s transformation as a person. As he is clinging to the outside of his window looking inward on his apartment, Tom Expresses regret about his actions and realizes that he took his life for granted, “He wished, then, that he had not allowed his wife to go off by herself tonight—and on similar nights. He thought of all the evenings he had spent away from her, working; and he regretted them. He thought wonderingly of his fierce ambition and of the direction his life had taken; he thought of the hours he’s spent by himself, filling the yellow sheet that had brought him out here. Contents of the dead man's pockets, he thought, with a sudden fierce anger, a wasted life.” He wishes to get back inside so he can go find his wife, this clearly states a change in Tom’s priorities. He is realizing how his selfish actions and ambitions have taken over the rest of his life. Tom’s frame of mind had changed after he was forced to realize the perilous nature of his situation.
Throughout the story situational irony, satire, and character development are used to illustrate how easy it is to fall victim to your own delusions. This theme is consistent for the duration of the story and accentuates our human tendency to be ignorant towards our skewed priorities. It is suggested that people who follow the same path as Tom will end up in similar or equally perilous predicaments if they remain blind to their actions. The reader can reflect on the message that “Contents of A Dead Man’s Pockets” portrays that having the wrong priorities can often lead you down destructive paths.
Literary Device #1: Satire
1. The way Tom interacts with his wife, Clare, is friendly and playful. This is shown when he is seeing her to the door as she leaves for a movie. “He kissed her then and, for an instant, holding her close, smelling the perfume she had used, he was tempted to go with her-“ Tom also displays ambition and passion towards his work which is a normal behavior for men his age. These normal and relatable traits give him a human aspect and allows the reader to relate to him on a basic level.
2. Tom was very impulsive making the decision to go after the paper on the ledge, convincing himself it would be a quick, easy task. He is shown trying to rationalize risking his life for the sake of his project. Although not to the same degree, readers can relate to this because they feel that they are invincible because they are blinded to the reality or danger of the situation.
3. Once Tom reached the paper, he bent down to grasp it and caught a glance of the 11 story drop below. The sight of this immediately struck him with crippling fear and he realized the reality of the situation. Tom then acknowledged the danger he was in and began to question the confidence he had when he first stepped onto the ledge. The reader can observe that sometimes change requires an unpleasant experience to get you to realize the reality of the situation.
Literary Device #2: Situational Irony
1. Tom is depicted as being caring and friendly towards Clare, so it is strange for him to allow her to walk the streets of New York at night alone and be subjected to possible danger. The audience realizes that in this instance Tom is being selfish by prioritizing work above all else, including the safety of his wife.
2. Toms decision to go out on the ledge is ironic because he spent a lot of time trying to decide whether or not he should go to a movie with his wife but was quick to chase a paper outside his window. The audience is well aware of the danger of his actions, but Tom is blinded by his ambitions and makes it out to be an easy task. He even prioritizes work above his own life, he is willing to risk death to achieve his goal.
3. As Tom is sitting outside his window looking on his apartment, he has the realization that he had taken his life for granted and reminisces the time he had before he crawled onto the ledge. He thinks to himself “Contents of a dead man’s pockets – a wasted life!” as he realizes it would be useless to die for something as trivial as a piece of paper. He expresses regret for not going out with his wife and acknowledges his foolish behavior as he yearns to go back inside.
Literary Device #3: Dramatic Irony
1. The irony behind Tom’s declaration of his dream to be the “boy wizard of wholesale groceries” is that it is not a very large ambition, yet it is the main priority in Tom’s life. The audience realizes that Tom meant for this to be impressive or exciting, when it was not. Tom’s proud statement doesn’t impress Clare as much as he thought it would because Clare just wishes to spend time with him. He is shown trying to win her approval by saying “You won’t mind though, will you, when the money comes rolling in- “projecting his own excitement on her.
2. The irony is that Tom realizes that there is nothing of value in his pockets and his life would be defined by that fact. Both the audience and Tom begin to realize that he had been amounting his self-worth to a mere sheet of paper and that’s not what he wants to be defined by.
3. Tom’s burst of laughter after he exits the apartment is ironic because he is laughing at how silly his behavior was and that he now realized how rash he had been when deciding to risk his life for something of so little importance. This proves that Tom’s priorities have changed because he finds his actions silly.
English: January 2019
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