A Penny for Your Thoughts story
When a coin lands on its edge, a bank clerk gains the ability to hear other people's thoughts – and soon learns that you cannot always believe what you hear. Directed by: James Sheldon. Story by: George Clayton Johnson.
17 total · 1 choice · 4 major · 12 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| what if I heard all the thoughts around me | choice | Poole suddenly found himself obliged to hear the thoughts of anyone nearby after the coin he tossed into a newspaper vendor's box landed on its edge. |
| becoming a more self-assured person | major | Poole learned to become a more assertive and self-confident person under Helen's tutelage. |
| boss and employee | major | The bank clerk Poole and his manager Mr. Bagby. |
| risk taking vs. playing it safe | major | Poole deliberated whether he should tell his boss about Mr. Smithers' bank robbing at the risk of being though a fool. We simultaneously we heard that Mr. Smithers thought about robbing the bank but was too afraid to ever go through with it. |
| secret crush | major | Helen had long been dreaming about being with Poole. |
| bank robbery | minor | The viewer is encouraged to believe that old Mr. Smithers had robber the bank vault and was on his way to take the first ship to Bermuda. |
| blackmail | minor | Poole used his knowledge of Mr. Bagby's mistress to blackmail him into getting a nice promotion. |
| cowardice | minor | Old Mr. Smithers considered himself to be something of a coward for never following through on his fantasy to rob the bank where he'd been employed for 30 years. |
| criminal fraud | minor | Mr. Sykes tried to procure a loan under false pretenses from the bank to replace some money that he'd embezzled from his company. |
| dumb blonde stereotype | minor | Poole tried to read the thoughts of a pretty blonde girl and got nothing but silence. |