# XIX: A Soft Job explained — Short Fiction

> Chapter companion for Short Fiction by Ring Lardner.

## What happens

Following his release from the hospital, the narrator is advised by Dr. Pearson to leave journalism for a calmer profession. He becomes a ticket agent at Grand Central Station, where his imaginative and individualistic approach to the job leads to unconventional interactions with customers, including a widow he convinces to travel alone to Ardsley and a memorable encounter with Nora Bayes.

## Themes in this chapter

### Satire of Media and Business

The narrator's absurd and inefficient methods as a ticket agent satirize the bureaucratic and nonsensical rules of corporate employment.

### Disillusionment and Failure

The narrator's attempt to find a 'calm' job leads to a farcical situation, reflecting a sense of disillusionment with conventional paths to stability.

## Character check-ins

### Mr. Elliott

The narrator, now a ticket agent, applies his imaginative methods to his new job.

### Ella

Mentioned as Nora Bayes, a customer at the ticket window.

## Key lines

> The calmest, most leisurely calling I can think of, replied the doctor, is that of a ticket agent in a large railroad terminal.

The doctor suggested that the most relaxing job he could imagine was working as a ticket seller at a major train station.

_The doctor's advice sets the stage for the narrator's new, supposedly low-stress career._

> But after that, my natural imaginativeness and individuality overcame my sense of duty and I proceeded to revolutionize the ticket selling industry.

However, my creative and independent nature soon took over, and I began to completely change how tickets were sold.

_The narrator's personality clashes with the mundane rules of his new job._

> This struck me as so comical that I hurried up to the athletic field of the University of Columbia and watched some of the men practice broad jumping.

I found this so funny that I immediately went to watch college athletes practice long jumps.

_The narrator's reaction to Nora Bayes' joke highlights his preference for amusement over work._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_62_se/chapters/xix-a-soft-job
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_62_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_62_se/chapters