Tom Benecke: A Dead Man's Pocket

Tom Benecke, the main character of Jack Finney’s Contents of a Dead Man’s Pocket, experiences many life events that change his priorities, such as realizing no one was going to help him off the ledge, breaking the glass to his apartment window, and when the yellow sheet flies out the window for a second time. Benecke went out on the ledge to retrieve his yellow sheet, but once he took his first few steps he found that it was not as easy or inviting as he originally assumed. Once Benecke made this realization he quickly modified his priority from job success to pure survival. The author writes, “He was simply not going to cling here till he slipped and fell; he told himself that now.” (47) Likewise, when Benecke recognized that the only way to get back inside was to break the window, he became torn on whether or not to risk the possibility of not fully breaking the glass and falling
He rushed to get his topcoat and hat and as he shut the door, “...warm air from the hall rushed through the narrow opening again. As he saw the yellow paper, the pencil flying, scooped off the desk and unimpeded by the glassless window, sail out into the night and out of his life, Tom Benecke burst into laughter and then close the door behind him.” (48) It is obvious that the paper flying out of the window for second time didn't bother Tom because he laughed and left the apartment anyways. Tom’s priorities alter again from his strong ambition in his work to the desire to spend more time with his wife and live life to the fullest. Although some may disagree that major life events can change your priorities, Finney’s words in Contents of a Dead Man’s Pocket prove that they can when Tom Benecke discovers that help is not coming for him on the ledge, breaks the window, and when the yellow sheet sails out the window