Summary

This story’s first-person narrator describes himself as a city man. He describes the casual (and familiar) atmosphere of a place called the Ilmorog Bar and Restaurant. The narrator then shares the tale he overheard about what he calls a Mercedes Benz Funeral. The teller of the story, he says, is “one of … our dark-suited brothers with a public opinion just protruding” (123).

Narration then shifts focus into that of the storyteller, who interrupts his story several times to address a barmaid or a listener. He speaks of a recent election in Ilmorog when an incumbent candidate (John Joe James, or JJJ) wanted a smooth and uncontested election like the other politicians, but was instead challenged by three rivals – a student, a farmer, and a businessman. As the four candidates campaigned, the question of workers and their rights kept...