Pale Horse, Pale Rider

by Katherine Anne Porter

Bond Salesman Character Analysis

Another man temporarily hired by the government to push bonds. He appears before the third act of the show that Miranda and Adam see together. Miranda describes him as “a local dollar-a-year man, now doing his bit as a Liberty Bond salesman.” He would otherwise have been a painfully mediocre man, but his stint as a bondsman makes him feel important. His sales pitch is all dead metaphors and theatrics, and Adam says he “looks like a penguin.”

Bond Salesman Quotes in Pale Horse, Pale Rider

The Pale Horse, Pale Rider quotes below are all either spoken by Bond Salesman or refer to Bond Salesman. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
The Performance of Patriotism  Theme Icon
).

Pale Horse, Pale Rider Quotes

“Adam,” she said, “the worst of war is the fear and suspicion and the awful expression in all the eyes you meet…as if they had pulled down the shutters over their minds and their hearts and were peering out at you, ready to leap if you make one gesture or say one word they do not understand instantly.”

Related Characters: Miranda (speaker), Adam Barclay, Bond Salesman
Related Symbols: Liberty Bonds
Page Number and Citation: 294
Explanation and Analysis:
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Bond Salesman Character Timeline in Pale Horse, Pale Rider

The timeline below shows where the character Bond Salesman appears in Pale Horse, Pale Rider. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Pale Horse, Pale Rider
The Performance of Patriotism  Theme Icon
Alienation Theme Icon
...nailed at each upper corner, gathered in the middle and nailed again, sagging dustily.” A bond salesman appears onstage and proceeds to give a speech about the importance of buying Liberty Bonds.... (full context)
The Performance of Patriotism  Theme Icon
Alienation Theme Icon
After they’ve exited the theater, Miranda calls the bond salesman “Just another nasty old man who would like to see the young ones killed.” Adam... (full context)