The Man Who Was Thursday

Syme gets to the top of the embankment and sees a man leaning over a low wall. He shows the man the paper from Buttons, and learns the man is the Secretary of the Council (Monday). When he smiles, his scarred face and crooked grin unnerve Syme.

Walking through Leicester Square, Syme feels as if he’s in a foreign place, even though he’s gone to the square since he was a child. He has “the eerie sensation of having strayed into a new world” (32). As they approach the hotel, Syme sees a group of men on a balcony. He is riveted by a huge man sitting with his back to Syme. Syme looks at the man’s massive back and feels frightened. Syme soon finds out this is the president of the council, Sunday.

When Syme sees Sunday’s face, it reminds him of something that frightened him as a child. He has the urge to scream but remains calm. He meets the other five members of the council. They are Gogol (Tuesday); the Marquis de St. Eustache (Wednesday); Professor de Worms (Friday); and Dr. Bull (Saturday). Syme notices each man is “subtly and differently wrong,” and feels Dr.