Poetry · Chapter

The Scurril Press explained

Tom Jonesmith wakes to find himself and acquaintances lampooned in the morning paper.

What happens

Tom Jonesmith wakes to find himself and acquaintances lampooned in the morning paper. He rails against the scurrilous press, especially the 'funny man' Grip, while his wife offers a wry counterpoint.

Themes in this chapter

Hypocrisy and Corruption
Jonesmith condemns the paper's libel while himself indulging in gossip and double standards about the same stories.
Deception and Self-Deception
Jonesmith's outrage at being written up contrasts with his earlier amusement at others being lampooned, revealing self-deception.

Characters to notice

Unknown
The speaker 'Tom Jonesmith' is the narrative persona, waking and reacting to the morning paper.
Estee
Addressed as 'Mary' and 'wife'; she sleeps through most of the tirade and finally wakes to read the offending article.

Key passages

“If Freedom shrieked when Kosciusko fell She’ll shriek again—with laughter—seeing how They treated Gast. with her.”
If the nation mourned when Kosciusko died, it will laugh now at how the press has treated Gast.
Jonesmith mocks the paper's treatment of a mutual acquaintance, 'Gast.'
“You skim their contents and you get but scum.”
When you read these papers, all you find is filth.
Jonesmith's summary judgment of the scurrilous press.

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