Elvis's sunglasses

Elvis's sunglasses are a coveted object that Leland Gaunt uses to draw Cora Rusk into a bargain and recruit her attention for his campaign against Sheriff Alan Pangborn. Their apparent value as a rare piece of celebrity memorabilia becomes the bait for a second transaction: Cora is not merely buying the glasses but being enlisted to help Gaunt identify a watcher for the sheriff.

Appearance and Purchase

Gaunt produces the sunglasses from a small lizard-skin spectacles case. They have aviator frames and deep smoky-gray lenses, details that make the object feel distinct from the hundreds of images of Elvis Cora has seen and the half-dozen pictures of him she already owns. Her response is immediate: her breath catches, and her right hand rises to her trembling neck.

Gaunt claims that they are the King's sunglasses, one of sixty pairs, and says they were his favorites. Cora pays nineteen dollars and fifty cents for them. The sum is concrete and modest beside the extraordinary provenance Gaunt asserts, but Cora is too dazed by the object to approach the claim with skepticism. She holds the glasses throughout the conversation that follows, already eager to get home and try them on.

The Purchase Becomes a Bargain

The sale does not end with the exchange of money. Gaunt asks for what he calls a surcharge, explaining that he wants a little information. When he directs Cora to look out the window, she sees Alan standing across the street beside the sheriff's cruiser, talking to Bill Fullerton. Cora identifies him as Sheriff Pangborn, but her attention remains fixed on the sunglasses in her hands; Gaunt's voice seems distant to her.

Gaunt describes Alan as a difficult person to persuade and says he distrusts people who scrutinize a purchase for flaws. His animus toward the sheriff is explicit: he dislikes intelligent people and loathes a tough customer. With Alan in view, the sunglasses become part of a recruitment scene. Their allure has placed Cora in Gaunt's shop, and the unfinished dealing keeps her there while he redirects her thoughts toward the sheriff.

From Memorabilia to Surveillance

Gaunt asks Cora who would be a good choice to keep an eye on Alan. She first suggests Polly Chalmers, noting that Polly is very fond of him. Gaunt rejects the suggestion because Polly is another difficult customer. Cora then proposes Eddie Warburton, identifying him as the head custodian at the Municipal Building. That answer pleases Gaunt: he exclaims over the idea of using the janitor and calls it excellent.

The exchange gives the sunglasses a function beyond their appeal as a collectible. They are the lure through which Gaunt secures Cora's participation in a scheme to monitor Alan, and the staged surcharge disguises recruitment as a minor addition to an ordinary sale. Gaunt rewards Cora's suggestion with a kiss on the cheek; she recoils and rubs the spot, an abrupt bodily rejection that contrasts with the earlier, almost helpless intensity of her desire for the glasses.

Narrative Significance

The transaction makes visible the structure of Gaunt's bargains: a coveted object is offered on terms that extend beyond its price, binding the buyer to an additional act. Cora's purchase of the glasses leads directly to her identifying a potential watcher for Alan. The sequence thus turns possession into complicity: while Cora imagines taking the sunglasses home, Gaunt has already made the purchase serve his purpose.

The scene also sets the sunglasses' material attraction against the concealed social cost of acquiring them. Their smoky lenses and claimed celebrity history command Cora's attention, while her dazed state and the rule that the dealing is not finished until Gaunt says so narrow her sense of choice. The object is therefore not simply memorabilia within the scene; it is the instrument that carries Gaunt's influence from the counter into the town's surveillance and conflict.