Short Fiction · Chapter
IX explained
In the early morning after May Day, the Childs' restaurant on Fifty-ninth Street is filled with a lively crowd from the Gamma Psi dance.
What happens
In the early morning after May Day, the Childs' restaurant on Fifty-ninth Street is filled with a lively crowd from the Gamma Psi dance. Gus Rose, still dazed from the riot and the death of Carrol Key, sits inconspicuously. He observes a drunken Gordon Sterrett with a woman named Jewel, who are confronted by Philip Dean and Peter Himmel. After a tense exchange, Jewel leads Gordon away. Dean and Peter cause a commotion, are ejected, and the dawn breaks spectacularly over Columbus Circle.
Themes in this chapter
Social Class and Inequality
The contrast between the 'drab, mouse-like' figures like Gus Rose and the 'butterflies' of the wealthy party crowd highlights class divisions.
Ambition and Disillusionment
Gordon Sterrett's drunken state and the chaotic revelry suggest disillusionment beneath the surface of glamour.
Characters to notice
- Gus Rose
Sober but dazed, he sits in Childs' restaurant after the riot, mourning Carrol Key and observing the scene.
- Gordon Sterrett
Drunk and disheveled, he is confronted by Philip Dean and later led away by Jewel.
- Philip Dean
Promenades through the restaurant, taunts Gordon, and is later ejected after a scuffle.
- Peter Himmel
Owlish and oratorical, he joins Dean in causing a disturbance and is thrown out.
Key passages
“Childs’, Fifty-ninth Street,” at eight o’clock of any morning differs from its sisters by less than the width of their marble tables or the degree of polish on the frying-pans.”
The Childs' restaurant on Fifty-ninth Street at eight in the morning is nearly identical to any other Childs' location.
Sets the scene by emphasizing the restaurant's uniformity during regular hours.
“He had seen the body of Carrol Key put in an ambulance and driven off, and then he had started up town with two or three soldiers.”
Gus Rose witnessed Carrol Key's body being taken away and then headed uptown with some soldiers.
Explains Gus Rose's presence and his lingering memory of the riot.
“The great plate-glass front had turned to a deep blue, the color of a Maxfield Parrish moonlight—a blue that seemed to press close upon the pane as if to crowd its way into the restaurant.”
The large window became a deep blue, reminiscent of a Maxfield Parrish painting, as dawn arrived.
Describes the dramatic and beautiful transition from night to dawn.