# On Behalf of the Management explained — Short Fiction

> Chapter companion for Short Fiction by O. Henry.

## What happens

Sully Magoon recounts the story of his friend Denver Galloway, a natural-born manager who has never invested his own money but excels at running other people's enterprises. Denver takes on the role of campaign manager for General Rompiro, a South American presidential candidate in exile, and enlists Sully's help. The chapter explores the nature of management, ambition, and the art of bluff and front.

## Themes in this chapter

### Ambition and Failure

Denver Galloway's ambition to manage something grand like a railroad or diamond trust contrasts with the dubious reality of a South American campaign.

### Deception and Appearance vs. Reality

Denver's glamour and front deceive General Rompiro into believing he is a great man, while the General himself is not what he seems.

### Humor and Irony

The ironic contrast between Denver's grandiose self-image and his actual ventures, as well as the humorous descriptions of the General and the hotel.

## Character check-ins

### Denver Galloway

A born manager, red-headed and charismatic, who manages the Hotel Brunswick and takes on the campaign of General Rompiro.

### Sully Magoon

The narrator and friend of Denver, who is drawn into Denver's scheme to manage a South American presidential campaign.

### General Rompiro

A South American presidential candidate in exile, described as a small, liver-colored man who admires Denver greatly.

## Key lines

> The woman manager (he says) economizes, saves, oppresses her household with bargains and contrivances, and looks sourly upon any pence that are cast to the fiddler for even a single jig-step on life’s arid march.

According to Sully, a female manager is thrifty and restrictive, denying small pleasures to save money.

_Sully's gendered view of management sets up the contrast with the male manager's style._

> Now, the man manager (I still quote Sully) is a Caesar without a Brutus. He is an autocrat without responsibility, a player who imperils no stake of his own.

The male manager is a ruler who takes no personal financial risk and bears no consequences for failure.

_Defines the central concept of the chapter: the manager as a risk-free operator._

> I’ve given him the wizard grip and the cabalistic eye. The glamour that emanates from yours truly has enveloped him like a North River fog.

Denver claims he has mesmerized the General with his charisma and aura of importance.

_Denver's self-aggrandizing description of his influence over General Rompiro._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/on-behalf-of-the-management
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters