Chapter 6 - Ethical Culture Fieldston School

“Mr. Sinatra Gets Rejected”
Yanked out of bed by an alarm clock, John speeds through his
shave, bolts down his breakfast in eight minutes, and scurries for a
train or the street car. On the way to work his roving eye scans, one
after another, the sport page, the comic strips, several columns of
political hokum, and the delectable details of the latest moonshine
murder.
From eight to twelve, humped over a desk in a skyscraper,
he wrestles with his job to the accompaniment of thumping
typewriters, jingling telephones, and all the incessant tattoo of
twentieth century commerce. One hour off for a quick lunch, a
couple of cigarettes, and a glamorous glance at the cuties mincing
down the boulevard. Jangling drudgery again from one until five.
Then out on the surging streets once more.
Clash, clatter, rattle and roar! Honk! Honk! Honk! Every
crossing jammed with traffic! Pavements fairly humming with
jostling crowds! A tingling sense of adventure and romance in the
very air! Speed‐desire‐excitement – the illusion of freedom at the
end of the day! The flashing lights of early evening – Clara Bow in
Hearts Aflame! Wuxtry! Wuxtry! ‐‐ Bootlegger Kills Flapper
Sweetheart! Clickety‐click, clickety‐click – John Smith homeward‐
bound, clinging to a strap and swiftly skimming through the last
edition. 13
13
Roland Marchand, Advertising the American Dream: Making Way for Modernity, 1920-1940 (Berkeley:
University of California Press, 1985), p. 3.
American History for Cynical Beginners
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