# Revelry by Night explained — Mike

> Chapter companion for Mike by P. G. Wodehouse.

## What happens

Mike's early success at cricket makes him restless and rebellious. After receiving patronizing advice from his brother Bob and the head of house Firby-Smith, he feels stifled. When Wyatt sneaks out for a moonlit prowl, Mike stays behind but decides to explore the house. He finds Mr. Wain's dining room, eats leftovers, and impulsively plays a gramophone, which alerts Mr. Wain. Mike escapes through a window just in time.

## Themes in this chapter

### Rebellion Versus Authority

Mike's resentment of being patronized by Bob and Firby-Smith leads him to break rules by exploring the house and playing the gramophone, a direct act of rebellion against Mr. Wain.

### Brotherhood and Rivalry

Bob's clumsy attempt at elder-brotherly advice creates tension and drives Mike further away, highlighting the complex dynamics of sibling relationships at school.

### Coming of Age and Responsibility

Mike's struggle to handle early success and the pressure to conform to authority marks a step in his maturation, as he tests boundaries and learns consequences.

## Character check-ins

### Mike Jackson

Feeling heady from early cricket success, resentful of being patronized by Bob and Firby-Smith, and rebellious enough to explore the house and play the gramophone at night.

### Bob Jackson

Acts as the Heavy Elder Brother, giving Mike well-intentioned but tactless advice about not getting 'side' and avoiding Wyatt's influence.

### Wyatt Burgess

Sneaks out at night with an air-pistol to hunt cats, refusing to let Mike join him to protect Mike from potential consequences.

### Firby-Smith

The head of Wain's house, called 'Gazeka,' patronizes Mike by telling him he'll 'keep an eye on him' as Bob requested, further fueling Mike's resentment.

### Mr. Wain

His dining room is the scene of Mike's late-night exploration; he bangs on the locked door after hearing the gramophone.

## Key lines

> There is nothing more heady than success, and if it comes before we are prepared for it, it is apt to throw us off our balance.

Success can be intoxicating, especially when it arrives unexpectedly and before one has learned to handle it.

_Narrator's reflection on Mike's premature cricket success and its effect on his behavior._

> It is never the smallest use for an elder brother to attempt to do anything for the good of a younger brother at school, for the latter rebels automatically against such interference in his concerns.

An older brother's attempts to help a younger brother at school are doomed to fail because the younger brother will instinctively resist any meddling.

_Narrator's commentary on the futility of Bob's well-meaning advice._

> Like Eric, he burned, not with shame and remorse, but with rage and all that sort of thing.

Unlike the famously repentant Eric in 'Eric, or Little by Little,' Mike felt angry and rebellious rather than ashamed.

_Allusion to the moralistic school story 'Eric, or Little by Little' by Dean Farrar, contrasting Mike's reaction with that of the protagonist._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/mike_se/chapters/v-revelry-by-night
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/mike_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/mike_se/chapters