The Fear of Oblivion
Hannah Ernst
Mrs. Radavich
English 10
6 October 2014
The Cruelty of Oblivion If one is constantly bombarded with strenuous tasks, they may resort to desperate measures. The main character, Tom Benecke goes to the extremes to prove himself for his job. He spends the majority of his time trying to be productive, and sedulous, but will soon learn that work is not the major priority in life. In “The Contents of the Dead Man’s Pocket,” by Jack Finney, Tom is faced with many internal and external conflicts in his stressful life. There are battles in which he is fighting within himself and against the world. The fate of Tom is determined by allowing his pride to consume him or letting it go. The internal conflict Benecke is facing is the struggle of balancing work with his daily life. In the city of New York, the competition of advancement is fierce. His job may require urgency; notwithstanding, it is not a valid reason to be oblivious to the main priority in his life which is his wife, Clare. She stated, “You work too much, though, Tom” (Finney). The importance of having a job to provide for one should be significant but not to the extent of missing every event in a person’s life. Clare requests Tom to go to the theatre alongside her, and yet again he is distracted by his own projects for work. “Smelling the perfume she had used, he was tempted to go with her” (Finney). Nonetheless, Tom is engulfed in his endeavor, and is unaware of his wife renouncing him gradually. Benecke faces external conflict when an important piece of information slowly drifts astray. A yellow piece of paper crucial to the arrangement he was working on casually wanders out the window. Being the determined man he is, Tom debates on retrieving the paper. “The mental picture of him sidling along the ledge outside was absurd- it was actually comical- and he smiled” (Finney). Insanely, he comes up with the idea to inch along the sides of the building to retrieve this paper. His
Mrs. Radavich
English 10
6 October 2014
The Cruelty of Oblivion If one is constantly bombarded with strenuous tasks, they may resort to desperate measures. The main character, Tom Benecke goes to the extremes to prove himself for his job. He spends the majority of his time trying to be productive, and sedulous, but will soon learn that work is not the major priority in life. In “The Contents of the Dead Man’s Pocket,” by Jack Finney, Tom is faced with many internal and external conflicts in his stressful life. There are battles in which he is fighting within himself and against the world. The fate of Tom is determined by allowing his pride to consume him or letting it go. The internal conflict Benecke is facing is the struggle of balancing work with his daily life. In the city of New York, the competition of advancement is fierce. His job may require urgency; notwithstanding, it is not a valid reason to be oblivious to the main priority in his life which is his wife, Clare. She stated, “You work too much, though, Tom” (Finney). The importance of having a job to provide for one should be significant but not to the extent of missing every event in a person’s life. Clare requests Tom to go to the theatre alongside her, and yet again he is distracted by his own projects for work. “Smelling the perfume she had used, he was tempted to go with her” (Finney). Nonetheless, Tom is engulfed in his endeavor, and is unaware of his wife renouncing him gradually. Benecke faces external conflict when an important piece of information slowly drifts astray. A yellow piece of paper crucial to the arrangement he was working on casually wanders out the window. Being the determined man he is, Tom debates on retrieving the paper. “The mental picture of him sidling along the ledge outside was absurd- it was actually comical- and he smiled” (Finney). Insanely, he comes up with the idea to inch along the sides of the building to retrieve this paper. His