Sustained litigation can reduce a prosperous lawyer to counting coins for a train fare.

Evidence

Out of habit, he bought a newspaper, which left him with $1.40. Not until he boarded the train and saw the conductor coming down the aisle, collecting money, did he realize his mistake in buying the paper. Embarrassed, apologizing profusely, he offered the conductor what money he had. The conductor regarded him with pity and then, to Conway’s chagrin, offered to loan him a few dollars. Conway felt grateful for the conductor’s solicitude and at the same time a sense of horror at the state to which he had sunk. He declined the conductor’s offer and assured him that he would pay his debt tomorrow. — , Harr Jonathan - A Civil Action, 2741

Categorization

• CANDY: A well-off lawyer who can’t afford the commuter fare and is offered a loan by the conductor — a vivid, retellable detail.
• BMF: Evokes the genteel-poverty degradation of failed ambitions in Home Boy (Naqvi) — the protagonist’s family clinging to respectability while money runs out.