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Illustrated portrait of Rocky Gravo

A character in They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?

Rocky Gravo

The emcee who turns the contestants' pain into publicity.

What they want

To keep the show profitable.

The book

Cover of They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? by Horace McCoy
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?Horace McCoy, 1935

A Depression-era dance marathon turns hunger and exhaustion into paid entertainment.

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At a glance

Role
the marathon's promoter and master of ceremonies
Pressure
The emcee who turns the contestants' pain into publicity.
Goal
To keep the show profitable.
Story turn
He reveals that expenses would consume the prize.

Who they are in the book

Spoiler-free

Rocky Gravo is the marathon's promoter and master of ceremonies. The emcee who turns the contestants' pain into publicity.

The character wants to keep the show profitable.. That desire is tested by a contest whose rules reward spectacle rather than care.

He reveals that expenses would consume the prize. The outcome clarifies what the marathon takes from people and what its organizers can turn into entertainment.

How the book draws them

Appearance, manner, and tone — as the book sketches them, in our words.

  • Rolethe marathon's promoter and master of ceremonies
  • PressureThe emcee who turns the contestants' pain into publicity.
  • GoalTo keep the show profitable.
  • Story turnHe reveals that expenses would consume the prize.
  • ExpressionThe face should register to keep the show profitable. without becoming theatrical.
  • Place in the novelRocky Gravo keeps the social argument attached to one exhausted body.
What happens to Rocky GravoHow the book leaves them, what happened after, and what the record says. Open when you're ready.

He reveals that expenses would consume the prize.

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