Life, 1911-08-17 · page 34 of 40
Life — August 17, 1911 — page 34: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This humorous short story satirizes club life and social tedium. Two club members hide behind a screen to avoid encountering boring fellows. They commiserate about enduring one bore's "ponderously humorous" long-winded stories, only to discover their club is "peculiarly branded by fate" with two such bores—one specializing in tedious anecdotes, the other in tiresome personal revelations about his ailments. The satire targets the social obligation to suffer fools politely in institutional settings. The exaggerated hiding behavior and the revelation of a *second* bore of equal annoyance suggests the inescapability of boredom in respectable society—a witty commentary on club culture's stultifying aspects. The story mocks both the bores themselves and the helpless members forced to endure them.
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