The plot of “The Man in the Black Suit” revolves around a series of unintended events that could be considered accidents, coincidences, or fate. An accident is an unintentional event that usually has negative consequences. A coincidence is a surprising confluence of events that have no apparent causal relationship. A coincidence can have positive or negative results. Fate is an action or result that is predestined, and over which humans have no control. Fate can have positive, negative, or ambiguous outcomes.

The first unintended event is that Gary’s older brother dies from a bee sting. Even though this event occurs before the story begins, it is the underlying incident that propels the plot.

The second unintended and unexplained event is the Devil’s appearance. Older Gary writes of the encounter: “He was real, he was the Devil, and that day I was either his errand or his luck” (69). King never reveals whether the Devil had any intention of meeting Gary, whether their meeting was fated, or whether it was all a dream. The multiple possibilities leave room for readers to suspect both earthly and otherworldly causes for the story’s events—or no cause at all.