Contents Of The Dead Man's Pocket Analysis

In the short story Contents of the Dead Man’s Pocket and High and Dizzy, both characters are faced with deadly situations and begin them with feelings of confidence, which later turn into terror. In my own life, I have also experienced confidence and the drastic change of fear within a single situation. Tom Benecke of Contents of the Dead Man’s Pocket and Harold Lloyd of High and Dizzy both experience feelings of confidence and then petrification when they hang onto their ledges. In the early stages of their experiences, both men are not completely aware of the perilous situation they have placed themselves in. Benecke is swift on his feet and confident in his ability to retrieve his paper and return to the safety of his apartment. Lloyd, however, repeatedly stumbles over his feet and waves at the woman casually to go back inside. In both experiences, the two men become fully aware of the danger and become petrified. Benecke becomes stiff with fear when he bends down to collect his snagged paper and catches sight of the street below. He is later struck with fear when he reaches for a brick and finds only empty space. Lloyd’s hair stands up on his head, a response to a rush of adrenaline, when he looks down to step …show more content…
A few years ago, on a class trip, my friends had asked me to ride at least one roller coaster. It was not a large roller coaster, but it made me queasy just looking at it. I was confident that I would be able to go on and enjoy the experience. My confidence quickly evaporated when we began climbing up the roller coaster’s first hill. The ride dropped, and I was screaming so loudly that I could only hear myself. In the end, I felt more queasy then when I had started and decided that was my last roller coaster for the day. The experience has not changed my life drastically, but I am more willing to try new things and more determined to prove my feelings of nausea