Contents Of The Dead Man's Pocket Analysis

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The Replacements’ 1987 song, "The Ledge" describes a boy's thoughts as he attempts to commit suicide. Jack Finney's "Contents of the Dead Man's Pocket" tells a story of a man, named Tom Benecke, who has to reevaluate what he believes to be most important in his life. Together, both "The Ledge" and "Contents of the Dead Man's Pocket" have an array of similarities and differences. Both the lyrics of The Replacements’ “The Ledge” and Jack Finney’s “Contents of the Dead Man’s Pocket” showcase a young person’s internal struggle in dealings with self-esteem and self-worth as they attempt to define the values of their lives. For example, they both have a need for some sort of acceptance from those around them. When the boy says, “...I’m the boy…show more content…
He feels as though he is overlooked so the boy does this to gain the attention he craves from other people. On the other hand, after Tom’s important yellow paper flew out the window, he is convinced that by getting it back it will cause people to remember and be appealed by his idea. Tom thought, “The mental picture of himself sliding along the ledge… would add a special interest and importance to his memorandum, which would do it no harm” (64). He is thinking of how this adventure could reap benefits, not how dangerous the action could be proven to be. Despite the similarities of the two works, the differences of their characters' situation in life directly impact the outcome their struggle. For example, their intentions differed which led to different results. The boy clearly intended to commit suicide. A possible motivator could have been an unrequited love. He even said, "I'm the boy for the last time,"(line 26) and "A girl that I knew once years ago... the boy she can't ignore" (lines 11-13). Also, the boy did
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