Contents Of A Dead Man's Pockets Analysis

Motivational slogans appear everywhere, it seems. Printed on water bottles, or painted into murals, and sewn onto t-shirts, they fly their enthusiastic flags wherever the eye should look. One particular saying that has become quite popular lately reads, “live life to the fullest.” The average teenager sees it so often that they become callous to the truth of this simple, cliché saying. For God did indeed create humans to live their lives to the fullest, to enjoy their Creator's marvelous gifts of life and the world around us, and in doing so to give glory to Him who made all things. Unfortunately, the majority of the population rush through their nerve-wracked days, speeding from one thing to the next in order to climb higher on the social ladder as they disregard the true purposes that God created mankind for. Two examples of such people appear in a couple of short stories, one by Jack Finney and another by Kate Chopin. Tom Benecke in “Contents of a Dead Man's Pockets” undergoes a rattling event that causes him to reconsider his
Both characters react in contrary ways, however, with Tom resolving to change and acting on this resolution, whilst the lovelorn Mamzelle wallows in her sorrow, but makes no move to change her situation. Between the two separate reactions and characters, a vast majority of readers can relate to such a confrontation by reading the short stories and analyzing the two responses. Hopefully, most people would come to the conclusion that Tom moves on in a much more desirable way than Mamzelle's apathetic breakdown. When one takes action and reclaims what time has yet to remain un-squandered, then he or she finally begins to fulfill one of the purposes for which God created them – to enjoy the marvelous creation of God in this world, and to love the wonderful people that He has placed in