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54 pages 1 hour read

Jack Finney

Contents of the Dead Man's Pocket

Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1956

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Character Analysis

Tom Benecke

Tom is the protagonist and the only main character in “Contents of the Dead Man’s Pocket.” He is a dynamic character, as his values are clearly established in the story’s beginning; by its conclusion, they have changed dramatically.

A young, lower-level employee at a marketing agency, Tom seeks to move up in the company hierarchy by distinguishing himself from “the score of other young men in the company” (22) through personal initiative and extraordinary effort. Working nights, weekends, and on his lunch hours, Tom completes a new display method to use in grocery stores to increase sales. It is only one of the projects he has completed, and he has plans for others. Tom believes that his projects are “the way to change from a name on the payroll to a name in the minds of the company officials” (22). He regards them as “the beginning of the long, long climb to where he was determined to be, at the very top” (22). His ultimate goal is financial success; he wants to make a lot of money.

Tom’s unrelenting focus on work allows him no time to spend with his wife, Clare, whom he loves. When Clare worries aloud that he works too hard, Tom smiles and asks, “You won’t mind though, will you, when the money comes rolling in and I’m known as the Boy Wizard of Wholesale Groceries?” (21). Ambitious and consumed by materialism, Tom essentially abandons Clare in the pursuit of success as he defines it. He feels guilty sending her off to the movies alone, telling her he must work when he actually chooses to work instead of going with her.

Tom feels confident as he leaves the safety of his apartment to retrieve the yellow paper with his project notes; once he stands on the ledge, however, “fear stirs in his stomach” (23). Fear turns to panic and then to horror when he catches sight of the street 11 stories below and faces the reality of his situation. After nearly falling several times and failing to summon help, Tom understands “that he might actually be going to die” (29). This realization is an epiphany, marking a shift in Tom’s priorities and consequently his character development. He realizes that in dying, “all he was ever going to have out of life he would then, abruptly, have had. Nothing, then, could ever be changed; and nothing more—no least experience or pleasure—could ever be added to his life” (29). He thinks of all the evenings he spent working instead of being with Clare, and “of his fierce ambition and the direction his life had taken” (29). Abruptly, Tom understands that he has wasted his life. When he manages to return safely to his apartment, what he values in life is quite different. The yellow paper and his ambitious project are now meaningless; his relationship with Clare and their life together are more important than work and material success.

Tom’s character traits are evident in his work. He knows how to identify problems, observe details, think clearly, and plan. He has the ability to focus on a task at hand and follow through. He is self-disciplined and determined to succeed, no matter how difficult the task. In Tom’s perilous situation on the ledge, these same traits help save his life. Through self-discipline, he focuses his mind and manages to control his fear so that it doesn’t overwhelm him. He thinks of various ways to summon help—screaming as loudly as he can, setting his letters on fire, and dropping coins to the street below. When his efforts fail, he does not give up. He is determined to live. Before breaking the window with his fist, Tom plans how to do it, tests his plan, and follows through, successfully breaking the window. Stepping into the safety of his living room—into a new life with readjusted priorities—is the greatest success Tom will ever achieve.

Clare Benecke

Clare is Tom’s wife, a flat character who represents the stereotypical 1950s American housewife. She appears only briefly at the story’s beginning as she prepares to go to a movie alone while Tom stays home to work. After she leaves, she is present only in Tom’s thoughts. Nothing in the story indicates that she has a job or interests of her own. Always supportive of her husband, she doesn’t complain when she spends another evening alone; she is only disappointed for Tom: “It’s just that I hate you to miss this movie; you wanted to see it too” (21). Clare also worries about Tom, saying, “You work too much, though, Tom—and too hard” (21). When Tom replies that she won’t mind how hard he works “when the money comes rolling in” (21), her response is noncommittal: “I guess not” (21). Clare doesn’t express her opinion, one way or the other, about Tom’s ambitions; she follows his lead as head of their household.

As a minor presence in the story, Clare is a functional character. Her purpose is to establish what Tom sacrifices in his ambitious pursuit of material success. She also represents the importance of love and personal relationships in life.

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By Jack Finney