Friday Black

Several stories are located at the Prominent Mall, which is the only recurring setting in the collection. Additionally, the Mall features recurring characters, including Richard, the district manager; Angela, the store manager; and Florence, the assistant manager. These three characters are the only workers who hold positions above entry level. Other workers either appear in one story only or are referenced by their performance status rather than by name.

This motif underscores the theme of The Plight of Retail Workers by making the entry-level workers feel more transitory than the Mall’s career-path employees. Once they assume managerial roles, however, the latter set of characters becomes static, unable to grow beyond the authority they already have. For example, Richard is usually depicted as a square but personable supervisor, which undermines his status as an authority figure. Nonetheless, workers like IceKing speak about him with reverence because they value his approval and the benefits it affords them. Similarly, “In Retail” features Florence actively speaking about the static nature of her life in retail work.

The Normalization of Violence is a lens for interpreting this setting. Death crops up on the mall grounds, either as part of or as the centerpiece of a spectacle.