Poetry · Chapter
Something in the Papers explained
The narrator dismisses the dull and repetitive news in the papers—murders, fires, shipwrecks, and financial failures—before reacting with shock upon discovering that Tom Jones has failed and owes him seven hundred dollars.
What happens
The narrator dismisses the dull and repetitive news in the papers—murders, fires, shipwrecks, and financial failures—before reacting with shock upon discovering that Tom Jones has failed and owes him seven hundred dollars.
Themes in this chapter
Hypocrisy and Corruption
The narrator's indifference to others' tragedies contrasts with his personal outrage over a financial loss, highlighting moral hypocrisy.
Characters to notice
- Unknown
The narrator reads the papers and reacts with dismay to Tom Jones's failure.
Key passages
“What’s in the paper? Oh, it’s dev’lish dull: There’s nothing happening at all—a lull After the war-storm.”
The newspaper is boring; nothing interesting is happening after the war.
The narrator opens by dismissing the news as uneventful.
“Tom Jones has failed! My God, what an abyss Of ruin!—owes me seven hundred, clear!”
Tom Jones has gone bankrupt, and he owes me seven hundred dollars!
The narrator's personal financial loss provokes a strong reaction, contrasting with his earlier apathy.