The Contents of the Dead Man’s Pocket is about a man named Tom Benecke. Tom had been doing research on grocery store displays for two months and, one night all his work flew out the window. Tom knew he couldn’t just let all that work go, so he went out the window after his paper. When tom got outside on the window ledge, 11 stories up, he felt fine. It wasn’t till after he had retrieved the paper, and accidentally looked down, that the panic started to kick in. Tom started to feel paralyzed and was losing his strength to hold on to the ledge. Even worse, tom kept playing awful scenarios in his head on numerous ways he could fall to death. When he finally got back to the window to go back inside, it had slammed shut and wouldn’t open back up. Now tom was stuck outside the window, losing the strength to hold on to the ledge and rehearsing all …show more content…
If Tom would’ve fallen the only thing in his pocket, to identify him, would be the yellow piece of paper. Some would say that his work was his life, and that that yellow piece of paper would accurately sum up his life, but while Tom was outside on the ledge he realized that the most important things in life aren’t things, and went to the theater with his wife. Realizing this saved his life. The most important thing in life is no longer Toms life isn’t Toms work, but spending time with his wife. Another title for this story could be, “Death Over Life.” In the story Tom was willing to risk his life over a yellow piece of paper that he considered to be his life’s work. While on the ledge he lost his balance a few times and almost fainted. He lost almost all the strength to hold on to the ledge, yet the whole time, the author never mentioned how he almost dropped the piece of paper. Tom was willing to put his life, the piece of paper, over
The book I read was Never Trust a Dead Man by Vivian Vande Velde. Never trust a Dead Man is a very interesting murder mystery. The main plot of the story is that Selwyn has been framed for murdering Farold. You would automatically assume that Selwyn murdered Farold if you knew that Selwyn and Farold were bitter enemies, Farold stole Selwyn’s girlfriend, and Selwyn’s knife was found stabbed right through Farold’s back. Naturally, all arrows are pointed at Selwyn for murder, but surprisingly he wasn’t the murderer. Now under disguise, he must find out who the real murder is with some help from a witch named Elswyth and Farold, revived from the dead. I think something to learn from this book is that you should always be cautious of what you have and what you do with it. Allow me to explain.
Tom knows that his project can wait, but he has to have it done so his boss can read it over the weekend. The fact that his work couldn’t wait until he got back from the movies shows what an impatient person he is. When Tom is out on the ledge retrieving his paper, he is forced to be very patient and to take things one step at a time.
This results in a change of perspective and outlook on life. The first mate had believed in the ship Sally Anne so much that he did not think that anything could happen to it. He believed that the ship was stronger and studier than it was. After the accident the mate is forced to begin to see the truth about the ship and his life. He finally began to see that the thing he dedicated his whole life to was not as great as he thought. By the end of the story his outlook on life changes and he starts to think about what is next and working on the next step in surviving. The truth is something that people hide from and try as hard as they can not to face, however there are something’s that you cannot ignore as much as you try and one
Do you have your priorities straight? In “Contents of a Dead Man’s Pocket” by Jack Finney, the main character, Tom didn’t. He worked all the time and never spent time with his wife. His wife Claire wanted to her husband to go to the movies with her. Instead of going to the movies, he stayed behind and worked on the yellow paper, which could get him a promotion. The paper blows out the window of his tall apartment and he goes and retrieves it on the ledge of the building. He gets the paper and goes to get back inside but he panics and the window closes, meaning he is locked outside. He tries to scream for help, but is no use, he then realizes his job isn’t worth his life, so he punches the window and causes it to break and he changes from a workaholic, to being a family man. Both setting and conflict are the main to “The Contents in a Dead Man’s Pocket.”
In Jack Finney’s “Content of the Dead Man’s Pockets”, the setting takes place before the invention of computers and typewriters are still in use. Tom Benecke is a man who lives on the 11th story of an apartment on Lexington Avenue. One evening, while his wife goes out to attend a movie, Tom’s paper flies out the window. He then goes out on the ledge to retrieve the paper he is working on. Tom goes through a terrible experience trying to get his grasp on the paper. After he gets his paper, he struggles getting back in his apartment as his window closes. Tom Benecke changes from prioritizing his work to prioritizing his wife because of a near-death experience.
“Death's Acre” tells about the career of a forensic hero, Dr. Bill Bass, creator of the famous "Body Farm" at the University of Tennessee-the world's only research facility devoted to studying human decomposition. He tells about his life and how he became an anthropoligist. He tells about the Lindbergh kidnapping and murder, explores the mystery of a headless corpse whose identity surprised police.
... he still feels guilt for leaving Laura behind. Tom cannot ignore his feelings towards Laura and accept letting her go. Tom is physically able to flee from his past and reality, but is unable to escape emotionally. Also, even a new life, filled with opportunities and self goals has troubles. Tom says that he does anything to keep busy so he can forget what he left behind. He is still not fully content with his life.
If my life had no purpose, no individuality, and no happiness, I would not want to live. This book teaches the importance of self expression and independence. If we did not have these necessities, then life would be like those in this novel. Empty, redundant, and fearful. The quotes above show how different life can be without our basic freedoms. This novel was very interesting and it shows, no matter how dismal a situation is, there is always a way out if you never give up, even if you have to do it alone.
Just as Johnny’s courage shines through so does his fast maturity from child to adult. His childhood was stolen away from him by his illness but instead of sulking he pulls himself together. He takes every difficulty in stride, and gets through them. Even when he is feeling down he hides it for he does not want anyone else to feel his pain. Being a seventeen year old boy he wants to do the things all other seventeen year old boys do.
In the story The Premature Burial by Edgar Allan Poe. The main theme is that you can face and overcome your fears if you don't let your fears control you. During the whole story the narrator was transfixed on his fears all the time. The narrator was afarid that people would think that he was dead when he really was alive and bury him alive. At the end of his story he loses his fears by just sleeping. Some speficic elements to develop the theme is fast paced writing, lots of puntations, and short sentences to get the wow factor in a fear themed story.
The entire story was a symbol of Needy’s life. The setting in the story was symbolic to the way Needy was feeling. Needy’s life was diminishing right before his eyes, and he did not realize it. The different changes in the story represented how much Needy’s life had gradually changed over time. By reading the story the reader can tell that Needy was in a state of denial.
The narrator meets Tyler and realizes quickly that Tyler is everything he is not. The narrator is disappointed in his life when he compares it to Tyler’s. “I am nothing in the world compared to Tyler. I am helpless. I am stupid, and all I do is want and need thin...
...e. As time goes on Tom finds it harder and harder to deal with the responsibilities of taking care of his family and the home. He decides to leave his job and his family for the merchant marines. He believes he will find the adventure he’s always been looking for. Instead of being free like he thought he would be, Tom is trapped by the memories of his sister. He says “I tried to leave you behind me, but I am more faithful than I intended to be!
The difficult, treacherous, and mentally exhausting events that the main character has to overcome. Though there are more situations in this book these are the ones that best exemplify the fact that the Time Traveler has realized that nothing in life lasts forever. Despite vicious killer enemies , mental stress and harsh exploring conditions the Time Traveler never gave up, but rather carefully and logically examined what he had to work with a took what obstacles came his way. Though not all times are good what matters is what you do with the bad
Death can be very scary for the elder and young. One never really knows how they will react to the event of death. Even though inevitable, death can be shocking for some or troubling for others. A shocking and a troubling reality of death are depicted in two short stories, Used to Live Here Once by Jean Rhys and A Father’s Story by Andre Dubus. How characters in a story react to death are often different from one another.