Summary

In “Card I The Fool,” Stanton “Stan” Carlisle studied Clem Hoately, owner of the carnival and the one who announced each act, as he described the “geek” (4). This geek supposedly had the body of a man, but the brain of a beast. It was Stan’s job to hand Hoately a basket containing a live chicken to feed the geek.

After the show, Stan asked Hoately where he found geeks. Hoately explained he found a man addicted to alcohol and offered him a temporary job. The man was given a razor blade and told to slit the chicken’s throat but pretend to bite it and drink its blood. As long as the man was provided with liquor, he would do anything he was asked. With this information, Stan felt as if he had been given...