54 pages • 1 hour read
Jack FinneyContents of the Dead Man's Pocket
Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1956A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Background
Geographical Context: New York City
“Contents of the Dead Man’s Pocket” is set in Manhattan, one of the five boroughs in New York City. The smallest of the five boroughs, Manhattan is the most densely populated area in New York City. It is the city’s commercial, financial, and cultural center, and home to millions of who live in high-rise apartments and work in the borough.
The story contains numerous allusions to Manhattan. Lexington Avenue is a main thoroughfare on the east side of Manhattan; about six miles long, it runs south from East 131st Street to Gramercy Park at East 21st Street. From his view on the ledge, Tom sees the historic Loew’s Lexington Theatre, “blocks ahead [of him] past Fiftieth Street” (24). During the story’s time period, the famous movie house, dating to 1923, was located at Lexington Avenue and 51st Street. Tom mentions working at “the Public Library on Fifth Avenue” (22), a reference to the main branch of the New York Public Library at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street.
The setting of “Contents of the Dead Man’s Pocket” places Tom in the heart of Manhattan, the center of New York City’s business and finance culture. Viewing the story through its geographical context makes it easier to understand Tom’s initial obsession with workplace competition and achieving great financial success.
Historical Context: Post-World War II
“Contents of the Dead Man’s Pocket” is set during the post-World War II era of the 1950s. The transition from a wartime to a peacetime economy resulted in major changes in American society. With the war over and millions of soldiers returning home, established families were reunited and new families were created, leading to the postwar “baby boom.” The demand for housing and consumer goods skyrocketed. During the war, factories operated on a wartime footing, but after the war, they turned out the products demanded by American consumers, who now had more money to spend. By the end of the 1950s, the average American family’s purchasing power had increased by 30%.
As companies competed to sell their products to consumers, marketing became instrumental in increasing a company’s sales by drawing attention to its products. Tom’s project is designing a new marketing strategy to draw attention to products in grocery stores. The story details his marketing research methods: He counts the people who pass by grocery store displays and notes the results, and he researches trade publications. The availability of trade publications indicates that marketing is an important business in the era’s economy. In an earlier time, the company Tom works for might not have existed.
