In Murphy's Alley explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Optimism and The Glad Game

  Jamie and his mother play the glad game despite their dire circumstances, finding reasons to be grateful even in sickness and poverty.

• Social Class and Inequality

  The stark contrast between Mrs. Carew's luxurious limousine and the squalid tenement in Murphy's Alley highlights class disparities.

• Charity and Social Responsibility

  Mrs. Carew's decision to repair her tenements after witnessing the conditions reflects a sense of moral obligation and social responsibility.

Characters to notice

• Pollyanna Whittier

  Leads Mrs. Carew to Jamie's home, expresses distress at the conditions, and urges Mrs. Carew to help Jamie even if he is not her lost nephew.

• Mrs. Carew

  Accompanies Pollyanna to Murphy's Alley, questions Jamie about his identity, and is deeply affected by the poverty; later orders repairs to her tenements.

• Jamie Kent

  Lying sick in bed, he greets Pollyanna warmly, explains how his mother plays the glad game, and shares his fear of being evicted due to unpaid rent.

• Jerry Murphy

  Acts as guide, proudly escorts the ladies through the alley, and announces their arrival to Jamie.

• Mrs. Murphy

  Jamie's caretaker, a twisted woman with rheumatism, who offers Mrs. Carew a chair and explains that Jamie's only possessions are a few books.

Key passages

• “Ho! scoffed Jamie, valiantly. 'You'd oughter see the Pikes' downstairs. Theirs is a whole lot worse'n this. You don't know what a lot of nice things there is about this room. Why, we get the sun in that winder there for 'most two hours every day, when it shines. And if you get real near it you can see a whole lot of sky from it.'”

  Jamie cheerfully points out that the Pikes' apartment is even worse, and lists the positive aspects of his own room, such as the daily sunlight and the view of the sky.

  Demonstrates Jamie's application of the glad game to find silver linings in extreme poverty.

• “Then can't you just think he's Jamie, begged Pollyanna, 'and play he was? Then you could take him home, and—' But Mrs. Carew turned fiercely. 'Take that boy into my home when he wasn't Jamie? Never, Pollyanna! I couldn't.'”

  Pollyanna suggests that Mrs. Carew pretend Jamie is her lost nephew so she can take him home, but Mrs. Carew adamantly refuses to do so unless she is certain.

  Highlights Pollyanna's optimistic but naive approach versus Mrs. Carew's rigid need for certainty.

• “Oh, but what an awful, awful place that was! I just wish the man that owned it had to live in it himself—and then see what he'd have to be glad for!”

  Pollyanna exclaims that the tenement is terrible and wishes the owner were forced to reside there to understand its hardships.

  Reflects Pollyanna's indignation at social injustice and her characteristic blend of criticism and the glad game.