Manhattan

Manhattan is the setting for the meeting where Oliver first feels the pain that disrupts a company briefing, bringing a personal medical crisis into the middle of formal business proceedings.

Setting and Circumstances

Oliver is seated around a conference table in the chairman’s office in Manhattan. Mr. Larabee has just finished outlining the company’s special problem with the Federal Trade Commission, and Oliver has been taking notes on a lined yellow legal pad. Before lunch, he has already had more coffee than usual.

The Meeting Disrupted

As the briefing ends, Oliver feels a stab of pain and sees his pencil make wavering swirls across the page. He initially tries to dismiss the sensation, but a cold sweat and growing panic make it difficult to conceal his discomfort. When the chairman addresses him, the words sound muffled and far away; someone pours him water from a silver pitcher, but he cannot drink it. Oliver is led to a leather couch, where he loosens his collar and tie as the pain intensifies behind his breastbone.

Narrative Significance

Manhattan is established through a precise workplace setting rather than a broad description of the city. The conference table, legal pad, chairman’s briefing, and silver pitcher situate Oliver within an orderly corporate routine; his inability to follow the discussion or drink the water abruptly makes that routine secondary to his body’s distress.