Conflicts In The Pedestrian, And The Trip

What could three short stories about illegal immigration, life in 2053, and a man hanging off a window possibly have in common? Although the stories have different plots and subjects, the similar literary elements contribute to the way the reader feels, and the way the story is developed. In the short stories; “The Pedestrian,” by Ray Bradberry, “The Contents of the Dead Man’s Pockets,” by Jack Finney, and “The Trip,” by Laila Lalami, there are similar settings, themes, characters, and conflicts that help develop the story.
Throughout the three selected short stories, the settings develop a suspenseful mood. In “The Pedestrian”, Mr. Mead is walking alone down the street, with no one else anywhere around; “To enter out into the silence that

was the city at eight o’clock of a misty evening in November, to put your feet upon that buckling concrete walk, to step over grassy seams and make your way, hands in pockets through the silences…” With no one around the reader becomes suspenseful and uncertain about what will happen to him, or why him being alone is so significant. In “Contents of the Dead Man’s Pocket”, Tom puts himself in a life-threatening situation, 11 stories high, on a window ledge. Tom is hanging from the side of the apartment building, “… a sudden rush of giddiness swept over him and he had to open his eyes wide, staring sideways at the cold brick and angled lines of mortar, his cheek tight against the building. To add even more tension, the author, slows down the action so it takes the same amount of time to read the story as Tom is on the ledge. By doing so, it makes the reader curios about what will become of Tom. A similar mood of tension and uncertainty is developed in “The Trip”. Throughout the story, the setting gets increasingly dangerous, adding more risk factors to the already risky situation. Murad is in a dark, crowded boat trying to illegally cross the border at 3:15 AM. “The six-meter zodiac inflatable is meant to accommodate eight people. Thirty huddled in it now, men, women, and children, all with the anxious look of those whose destinies ae in the hands of others.” Which goes to show just how serious this journey is, and possibly foreshadowing other important events, continuing the common trend of a suspenseful mood. Although the settings of the short stories may be different, the mood of suspense, tension, and uncertainty is repeatedly felt and developed by readers because of the setting.
Although all the short stories have different conflicts, the protagonists are alone when in conflict.

During “The Pedestrian”, Mr. Mead is walking alone, with no one around. He was even alone when he was arrested, “The car moved down the empty riverbed streets and off away, leaving the empty streets with the empty sidewalks and no sound and no motion all the rest of the chill November night.” Mr. Mead is the only character in the entire story of “The Pedestrian”, which is an important detail because that is a main part of his conflict. In “The Contents of the Dead Man’s Pockets”, Tom was also alone during majority of the story when he was on the ledge. The absence of his wife greatly contributed to his conflict, “It was the second feature she’d wanted to see, and she’d left in time to see the first. She’d be another three hours or- he glanced at his watch: Clare had been gone for eight minutes. It wasn’t possible, but only eight minutes ago he kissed his wife good-by.” By Tom being alone, it develops one of his major conflicts, of not being able to get a back into his apartment. “The Trip”, however, can be contrasted to the two previous stories. Unlike, “The Pedestrian” and “The Contents of the Dead Man’s Pocket”, Murad is with many people during majority of the story. During Murad’s main conflict of getting arrested, the narrator says, “The officer from the Guardia Civil wears fatigues, and a black beret cocked over his shaved head. His name tag reads Martinez. He sits inside the van with Murad and the other illegals, the dog at his feet.” Murad is with other illegals who are facing the same problems as him, where as in the other two short stories, the protagonist being alone play a significant role in developing the

conflict.
The conflicts of the short stories may not be the same, however they are similar because they permanently effect the protagonist. A notable difference between, “The Trip” and, “The Pedestrian”, is both are external conflicts, where as “The Contents of the Dead Man’s Pockets” has an external and internal conflict. The internal conflict in is when he is on the ledge about to die, he realizes that he wastes/ doesn’t spend enough time with his wife. “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 from her, working; and he regretted them.” He faces his internal conflict while during his external conflict; that he is stuck on a tiny ledge, eleven stories high, and his window is closed. Whereas Murad’s external conflict is when he is caught by the Guardia Civil. “Murad sits up. The light is away from his eyes only a moment, but it is on long enough to see the dog, a German Shepard, and the infinitely more menacing form holding the leash.” Murad then must be sent back to Tangier with the other illegals; making all his hardships to get to Spain, a waste. Similar to Murad, Mr. Mead in, “The Pedestrian,” faces his external conflict when he is also arrested. Mr. Mead protests, arguing that he has done nothing wrong, but the police car insists that he get in. “He got in. The door shuts with a soft thud. The police car rolled through the night avenues, flashing its dim lights ahead.” The conflicts among the three short stories can be compared and contrasted by internal and external conflicts, but are all three similar because the conflicts permanently effect the protagonists.
The characters, conflict, and setting help to develop similar themes in “The Pedestrian”, “The Contents of the Dead Man’s Pockets”, and “The Trip”. A common theme, “All risks have consequences,” is developed in all three texts because the protagonists put themselves in their own risky situations. Tom, in “The Contents of the Dead Man’s Pockets” decided to move along the windowsill to retrieve his paper. “In the back of his mind he knew he’d better hurry and get this over with before he though too much, and at the window he didn’t allow himself to hesitate.” With his choice to go out onto the ledge he experienced the consequences of almost falling, having the window close, and his body cramped up/ injured from busting the window. Murad also put himself into a risky situation trying to illegally cross the border. Murad was aware of the risks before he proceeded on his journey, “Other days he could only think about the coast guards, the ice-cold water, the money he’d have to borrow, and he wondered how fourteen kilometers could separate not just two countries but universes.” Murad made his choice to go through with the journey to Spain, taking the risk and eventually being caught by the Guardia Civil having to be sent back to Tangier. In “The Pedestrian”, Mr. Mead walks alone down the street at eight-thirty PM, while no one else is outside. By doing so, his actions could be argued sketchy, as he is walking alone with no purpose. “In ten years of walking by night, or day, for thousands of miles, he had never met another person walking, not once in all that time.” There must be a reason no one walks the streets at night, so Mr. Mead creates suspicion by doing so, which is why the police car takes him to the him to the Psychiatric Center for Research on Regressive Tendencies. A second common theme, “difficult situations reveal details about people,” is developed between “Contents of the Dead Man’s Pocket” and “The Trip”. During his time on the windows ledge, when Tom thinks he is about to die, he realizes that he spends more time away from his wife than with his wife, regretting some of his choices. Murad’s choice to go on the journey, putting aside the risks and promising to try again after he got caught, shows how awful life in Tangier must be, and how desperate he is to start a new life.
Although the short stories, “The Contents of the Dead Man’s Pocket’s”, “The Pedestrian”, and “The Trip” are very different stories, they can be compared and contrasted by literary elements such as setting, characters, conflict, and theme.