Short Fiction · Chapter
XXVII: A Postmortem Message explained
The narrator describes the literary and theatrical community of Great Neck, including neighbors like Ed Streeter, Sam Hellman, Gene Buck, and H.B.
What happens
The narrator describes the literary and theatrical community of Great Neck, including neighbors like Ed Streeter, Sam Hellman, Gene Buck, and H.B. Swope. He humorously recounts how neighbors would drop by for Sunday meals, leading his wife to post a sign. The chapter ends with the narrator going fishing, where an accident occurs.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Falling action.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
This is the dramatic climax because it marks the psychological peak of the crowd’s self-deception, where their…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Satire of Media and Business
The chapter satirizes the pretensions and social habits of the wealthy literary and theatrical set in Great Neck.
Characters to notice
- Bob Masons
Mentioned as Bob Woolsey, proprietor of the Flea Circus, among the neighbors.
Key passages
“It got noised about that Emma and I had chow every Sunday about one o’clock and three or four platoons of our neighbors’ Company, having gone breakfastless owing to the sleeping prowess of mine host and hostess, acquired the quaint habit of dropping in at our haunch at about that hour and making complimentary remarks about our children.”
Word spread that we served Sunday lunch, and many neighbors, hungry because we slept late, started dropping by to compliment our kids in hopes of a meal.
The narrator humorously describes how neighbors exploited their hospitality.
