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Summary Of Contents Of A Dead Man's Pocket

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Imagine being dumb enough to try and grab a piece of paper eleven stories high, trying to hold on for dear life. It would be very scary wouldn’t it? Knowing that any second you could fall to your death. In the story Contents of a Dead Man’s Pocket, the author, Jack Finney, does an excellent job at using this scenario to develop theme. He shows how you don’t know what you have in life until you have almost lost it. In the beginning of the story the theme is shown by the author implying that Tom would rather stay home and work on his project than go with his wife to the movies. “He watched her walk down the hall, flicked a hand in response as she waved, and then he started to close the door, but it resisted for a moment”(16). The author has Tom hesitate to close the door like this to emphasize Tom not knowing what he has in life. “You work too much, though, Tom- and too hard.” He smiled. “ You won’t mind, though, will you, when the money comes rolling in and I’m known as the Boy Wizard of Wholesale Groceries (16)? Even though the author has Tom stay home and work on his project a part of him still wants to go to the movie with his wife. …show more content…

“Then as the moving air stilled completely, the curtains swinging back from the wall to hang free again, he saw the yellow sheet drop to the window ledge and slide over out of sight” (17). At this moment the author has Tom have confidence that he will go and get his paper and be right back.“In the back of his mind he knew he’d better hurry and get this over with before he thought too much, and at the window he didn’t allow himself to hesitate” (17). At this time Tom is wishing he went with his wife and now is starting to realize what he really has in

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By losing her mind, she finally escaped the “cage” of her everyday life and the boredom of the not doing anything. By pulling of the paper, her sanity was truly lost and she can never be the same

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With time, Tom finds the means through which to cope with his afflictions. It is important to note that Tom suffers a momentary setback when making a present for Daniel however it does not deter him from his goals like it used to. He acknowledges that “once, probably not that long ago, I’m not sure I could’ve [come] back at all” demonstrating his heightened self-awareness. His voice parallels his transition; initially nervous to face his adversities his voice is shaky and nervous, however his eventual emotional maturation allows him to face his future with hope and confidence. Through his heightened self-awareness, he was able to see past his own suffering and contributes significantly in helping others overcome their adversities.

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All throughout the story Tom and his wife seem to argue very much. Tom never wanted to please his wife and would never try or do anything to please her. Also, both Tom and his wife were so miserable in their marriage they cheated on eachother. “... with the loss of his wife, for he was a man of fortitude. He even felt something like gratitude towards the black woodsman, who, he considered had done him a kindness.”

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The Night His Life Flashed Before His Eyes Have you ever had your life flash before your eyes? That is how it feels when you read the story, “ Contents of the Dead Man’s Pocket” by Jack Finney. In this story the protagonist Tom is in a situation where he realizes his life is flashing before his eyes and how he hadn’t enjoyed it because of his job. Through the use of the Literary elements such as foreshadowing, manipulation of time, and setting we can note that the author uses suspense and tension in the story “Contents of the Dead Man”. To begin with, The literary element foreshadowing is used in this story on multiple occasions.

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Right away, he struggles between choosing to go with his wife or to work on his project. The fact that he chooses to stay home proves the need to succeed is stronger than his relationship with his wife. Not only will he spend hours on end for his job, but when a paper flies out the window, he is unable to stop thinking about the amount of work he would be losing if he let it go. With this said, Tom is suddenly fighting the battle to stay balanced, “he hung suspended between balance and falling ” ( ). If he had not been overly obsessed with his work and this paper, he would have been either with his wife at the movies or inside safe, not wondering whether or not he would survive.

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A gust of wind swept into the house. “As he saw the yellow paper...sail out into the night and out of his life, Tom Benecke burst into laughter and closed the door behind him. ”(p 125). No longer are thoughts of success and money on his mind; Tom’s priorities have

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Many believe that human lives are defined in moments; they are days that place an imbedded footprint in the human timeline and are hard to wash away. Along with those moments, there are more provoking objects that stay longer and plant themselves deeper than a memory ever could. It is a mother’s hairpin given on a wedding day, a grandfather’s pocket watch received before he died, or a beloved brother’s old t-shirt passed down. In any case, the articles and trinkets humans encounter take refuge in their lives and seem to become a part of who they are. In Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, the narrator, referred to as IM, comes across a briefcase that defines him far greater than any day of his life.

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After the ordeal Tom goes through to retrieve the yellow paper that nearly resulted in his demise, the paper gets blown away once more. This time, he allows the wind to sweep the yellow scrap out of his apartment window. Rather than endanger his life repeatedly, he decides that there are other, more important things to concern himself with. His experience changes him for the better. Living life in the moment shifts to be more important to him than any project for work.

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How she describes her surroundings and her interactions with her family evolves as her condition worsens. By the end, the reader can truly see just how far gone the narrator has gone. The narrator’s fixation on the yellow wallpaper had gone from a slight obsession to full mental breakdown. As it is with most good stories, the presence of strong symbolism and detailed settings is a very important aspect of the story that helps to draw the reader into the story.

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