Critical Essay on Contents of the Dead Man's Pocket

Introduction

Many people undergo life-changing experiences that change their life perception. The main character in the story "Contents of the Dead Man's Pocket" is Tom Benecke. He faces different decisions; he cares about his job and his wife Clare but prioritizes the two in the wrong order. The near-death experience of Tom on a ledge was a life-changing moment for him. His dedication to work towards success in his job was all that counted, however, towards the end of the story, he discovered what he should be struggling. Tom has to make decisions regarding his determinations of success while showing his traits of self-centeredness and impatient. Therefore, this paper discusses why it was appropriate for Tom to chase after the yellow sheet of paper to recognize the meaning of life.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Tom is tied up with work while Clare prepares herself to leave for a movie night. He insists that he has to finish the job that has taken him a month to compile and allows his wife to go alone. While moving, a gust of wind blew the work he had done through the window, and the paper falls far from the eleventh-story building. Tom makes an effort to get the paper by climbing on the narrow ledge, which is an emotionally painful and life-threatening attempt to salvage the paper while battling with his fears.

Tom is self-centered and thoughtful with his work, although he is ambitious for promotion at work by doing the project, he only focuses on his future and forgets about his wife being. He knows that his plan can wait but prioritizes that to his going out for a night movie. Conversely, Tom portrays his level of impatience when he could not remain after the movie night to finish the work he was doing. Tom faced the reality of death when he was out on the ledge rescuing the yellow paper. He then realizes the importance of his wife to him, and for her sake, he is motivated to stay alive.

Tom has spent incredible time investing on the yellow paper and has neglected his wife. It took a near death for Tom to realize his priority for the desire to work success versus happiness at home were wrong. The horrible experience made him realize that he wasted a lot of quality time that he could spend with his wife. Tom mourns the death of time he lost and decides to save his life to care for his wife, and he then decides to follow and look for her at the movies that showed he had realized his feelings for his wife.

Tom realized what he is supposed to do and what he was to do a while ago. While going to find his wife, he reflects the obstacles that caused frustrations and exposing his weaknesses disappear. Tom should not be wasting his valuable time being worried about being the ultimate success, instead, nurture the right relationship with family and the proper use of precious time. All through, Tom battles with internal and external conflicts, while he was almost falling off the ledge; he envisioned what people would remember him for, one sheet of paper containing penciled notations? It then occurred to him that the yellow sheet is less important than relationships.

Tom shatters through the window using his fist and manages to get home safely. He struggles to find what he has been chasing for a long time; Tom realized it is not as essential as the amount of time he has been spending on it. Decision conflicts made to understand what should be prioritized that shaped his life more comfortable. Toms' dedication towards his work rapidly transformed the moment he realized the true meaning of life, in case he died at that moment. Therefore, when Tom places himself in a dangerous situation because of his determination to succeed, he realizes that there is more to that than success, which is his purpose to live.