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The Adding Machine (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)

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Characters Discussed

Mr. Zero, a small, thin, sallow, and partially bald man in his late forties or early fifties. For twenty-five years, he has worked as a bookkeeper in a large department store, where he adds up the day’s receipts after arranging sales figures in columns. For his dedicated work, he expects a raise, not having received one in seven years, but instead he learns that he is to be replaced by an adding machine. His mind is preoccupied with figures, and he reveals all the prejudices of the lower middle class, though by temperament he is stolid and subdued. He is...

[The entire page is 960 words long]

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