Poem Essay: 'Contents Of The Dead Man's Pocket'

Ernie Pyle once said, ¨At last we are in it up to our necks, and everything is changed, even your outlook on life.¨ In Finney´s short story, Contents of the Dead Man 's Pocket, he clearly demonstrates how much a dramatic experience can really change a person. Jack Finney uses Tom to convey the theme from his story which the aid of literary devices and various conflicts in Tom 's way. In the beginning, Tom valued nothing more than the project that would lead him down a successful road at work, all the meanwhile neglecting his full attention to his wife. Through the course of the story, Tom must face the consequences of his actions after chasing behind the highly valued paper. On his journey to get back into his apartment safely, his perspective …show more content…
The darkness of the night is a conflict in Tom 's way that he attempts to overcome. ¨He saw the yellow sheet, dimly now in the darkness outside, lying on the ornamental ledge a yard below the window¨ (7). This is a very significant part of the plot development for this short story, for it is the narrative hook of this piece. The moment Tom 's wife leaves, the paper blows out of the window, giving Tom the all of the adventure needed for a lifetime packed into one night as he journeys to retrieve it. Finney uses figurative language as he describe the paper´s appearance to Tom as it falls outside. He gives the paper personified characteristics as it is barely lit lying upon the ground. Readers can also make an inference of what the outside looks like and may feel like based off of this excerpt as well since the darkness and wind speed of the night was implied as the paper blew outside. From this readers can note how far Tom would have to go to retrieve this sheet of paper. The bitter cold is an addition obstacle standing in Tom 's way to achieve his goals.¨And to save his life he concentrated on holding on to consciousness, drawing deliberate deep breaths of cold air into his lungs, fighting to keep his senses aware¨ (10). Finney uses imagery to express the aspects of this textual reference. From using literary devices that …show more content…
In the beginning, tom fears losing the paper that he worked so hard on, but his fears change throughout the story. ¨He imagined himself describing it; it would make a good story at the office, and it occurred to him, would add a special interest and importance to his memorandum, which would do no harm at all¨ (8). Tom believes that fetching this paper would be no trouble at all, but he is awakened rudely by reality as he is on the ledge which is a great aspect of compare and contrast. Finney uses literary devices such as symbolism and allusions when Tom speaks about being able to return to work and tell the story of how much he´s been working on this project as well as how difficult of a task it was for him to even turn the paper into his boss. With using these tools, he also creates foreshadowing as well as irony when Tom begins to think of how easy it would be for him to get out onto the ledge as well. Everyone fears death at some point in their life, but for Tom it is even more of a reality for him since he is literally almost facing it. ¨It occurred to him irrelevantly that his death on the sidewalk below would be an eternal mystery; the window closed- why, how, and from where could he have fallen?¨ (15). The negative connotation and negative tone from this excerpt not only give readers a feel for how Tom is