Eisman's Speech
Toward the end of the book, Lewis describes a speech Eisman delivered at a Bear Stearns conference. He illustrates Eisman delivering the bitter speech, in which he insults Bear Stearns and claims that it is doomed to fail, even as the Bear Stearns stock begins to dramatically plummet in real time. Of course, because he was in the middle of delivering a speech at the time, Eisman did not know about the falling stock until later. This image, of Eisman delivering a prediction of doomsday while doomsday happened all around him, is a powerful and symbolic one; it emphasizes that Eisman really did know what he was talking about, although at times he seemed clueless and left out of the happenings on Wall Street.
Watching people pass by in New York
The book ends with the image of traders sitting on the steps of a church in early 2008, watching people pass by in New York. The narrator points out that these Wall Street men knew about the disaster that had just befallen Wall Street, and would extend its consequences to ordinary Americans soon enough. But the ordinary people passing by them on the street were not yet aware of how badly their lives would be impacted by the financial crisis that had befallen Wall Street. This closing image poignantly illustrates the disconnect between Wall Street and the rest of America; although Wall Street has dire consequences for the rest of the country, the rest of the country is often slow to learn about what happens on Wall Street.
List of investors
At the beginning of the book, Lewis recounts how Meredith Whitney offered him a list of the people within Wall Street who had known that a crash was going to happen before it finally occurred in 2007-2008. This image of a list of names is central to the text; it speaks to the fact that very few people—only enough to include on a short list, written on a piece of paper—were able to predict the crash. It also illustrates the structure of the book, which focuses on profiling the characters who are mentioned on this list and figuring out what made them special.
Steve Eisman's casual outfits
In his description of Eisman, Lewis emphasizes his proclivity for wearing very casual outfits to his formal workplace. This personal quirk of Eisman's is illustrative of his character as a whole; Eisman is known for his brashness, his refusal to adhere to tradition or hierarchy, and his lack of regard for what other people might think of him. The image of Eisman wearing casual wear to work also signals his outsider status, and his ability to bring a different perspective to Wall Street. All of these qualities will be important in giving him the ability to be against Wall Street when no one else will.
