Short Fiction · Chapter
Promoted to Contest Editor explained
The narrator is promoted to contest editor at The Rabies by Horace Greeley and Ben Hecht.
What happens
The narrator is promoted to contest editor at The Rabies by Horace Greeley and Ben Hecht. He devises a guessing contest of famous men with missing letters, offering $50,000 in prizes. The contest attracts 500,000 entrants, boosting circulation from 126 to 500,126. However, the correct answers are intentionally obscure local figures, and no one guesses them correctly, so no prizes are awarded. The narrator ends up hospitalized from the strain.
Themes in this chapter
Satire of Media and Business
The contest is a satirical take on circulation-building schemes, with absurd prizes and intentionally impossible answers.
Disillusionment and Failure
The narrator's success in boosting circulation leads to personal breakdown, highlighting the hollow victory of the contest.
Characters to notice
- John Knowles
Narrator and newly appointed contest editor; devises the famous men guessing contest.
- Mr. Grant
Mentioned as Horace Greeley, co-editor of The Rabies, who promotes the narrator.
- Ben Drake
Mentioned as Ben Hecht, co-editor of The Rabies.
- Charley Cautious
Fellow reporter who inquires about the narrator's visit to Horace's private bath.
Key passages
“Young man, go wash,” and pointed to the bowl.”
Horace Greeley tells the narrator to wash himself, pointing to a bowl.
Shows the informal and quirky relationship between the editors and the narrator.
“The next one went over with a bang.”
The following contest was a huge success.
Indicates the contest's popularity and impact.
“This contest virtually made The Rabies and nearly wrecked me.”
The contest greatly increased the paper's success but also caused the narrator's physical and mental collapse.
Highlights the personal cost of the contest's success.