According to Their Lights Flashcards
by O. Henry — tap or click to flip
Flashcard Review
Flashcards: According to Their Lights
How did the Captain lose his position and wealth?
A sudden moral reform swept the city, stripping him of his badge, buttons, and position in the Police Department. His lawyers seized the real estate he had accumulated through graft.
What happened when the Captain and Murray tried to get a free lunch at Malone's saloon?
They were caught and thrown out by the waiters. The Captain had his hand on a turkey drumstick and sardine sandwiches, while Murray was within two inches of the stuffed olives.
What does the Captain do when he leaves Murray on the bench?
He goes to Essex Street to propose marriage to Catrina, an Italian woman who runs a fruit shop, hoping to improve his situation. She violently rejects him, dousing him with kitchen grease.
What does Murray do while the Captain is away?
He goes to a police station to ask if there is a reward for turning in the Captain, hoping to sell out his friend for money. The sergeant tells him there is no reward and throws him out.
What does Charlie Finnegan offer the Captain, and how does the Captain respond?
Finnegan offers 00 to testify against Inspector Pickering on graft charges. The Captain furiously refuses, declaring he will never betray a friend, and orders Finnegan out of the park.
What opportunity does Murray turn down at the end of the story?
A man in an opera hat tells Murray his wealthy uncle has forgiven him and will restore his fortune, but only if Murray marries Miss Vanderhurst. Murray refuses because he finds her unattractive.
Where do the Captain and Murray end up at the end of the story?
They join the Bread Line on Tenth Street near Broadway, waiting in a long queue with other destitute men for free bread at midnight.
What was Murray's social background before his downfall?
He came from a wealthy upper-class family, living above Forty-second Street. His uncle owned a grand house on a revered avenue, and he once enjoyed all the luxuries of high-society New York.
How does O. Henry physically describe the Captain on the park bench?
He is enormous and shapeless, with a red face spotted with tufts of week-old whiskers, a sagging white straw hat, a tight belt cutting into his belly, and buttonless shoes.
Who is Charlie Finnegan and what role does he play in the story?
He is a well-fed, diamond-wearing political operative who seeks the Captain out to bribe him into testifying against Inspector Pickering so that O'Shea can take the inspector's job.
Who is Inspector Pickering?
He is a police inspector being tried on graft charges. He was the Captain's superior and "man higher up" who received a share of the Captain's corrupt earnings while both were on the force.
Who is Miss Vanderhurst?
She is a wealthy heiress whom Murray's uncle expects him to marry as a condition of being restored to the family fortune. Murray refuses, citing her unattractive nose.
What does the title "According to Their Lights" mean in the context of the story?
It means each character acts according to his own moral code. The Captain, from below Fourteenth Street, values loyalty above all, while Murray, from above Forty-second, acts on upper-class pride and superficial standards.
How does the story explore moral relativism through its two protagonists?
Both men face temptations and make choices that reflect their different class backgrounds. The Captain refuses to betray a friend despite starvation; Murray would betray the Captain but refuses a loveless marriage. Each follows his own moral code.
How does O. Henry treat the concept of loyalty in this story?
Loyalty is class-dependent. The Captain, a product of lower-class New York, considers betraying a friend the worst possible sin. Murray, from upper-class New York, sees no moral problem with informing on the Captain for a reward.
What commentary does the story make about poverty and pride?
Both men are starving, yet each refuses the one opportunity that could save him because it violates his personal code. Their pride persists even as they stand in the Bread Line, showing that identity outlasts material comfort.
What is the central irony in "According to Their Lights"?
Each man secretly considers the other morally inferior, yet both end up in the same Bread Line. Murray would sell out his friend but not marry for money; the Captain would marry for food but never betray a friend.
How does O. Henry use the parallel structure of the two temptation scenes?
The Captain and Murray each face a separate temptation while the other is away, then each faces a second temptation at the story's end. The parallel structure highlights how their moral codes differ while their material circumstances remain identical.
What literary allusions does O. Henry use to characterize Murray and the Captain?
Murray is compared to Lucifer (a fall from great height), a dispossessed ghost, and Prince Hal without inheritance. The Captain is compared to a zoo rhinoceros, a wounded bear, and Falstaff -- Shakespeare's comic, disreputable knight.
What does the Bread Line symbolize at the story's conclusion?
It symbolizes the great equalizer -- regardless of their different backgrounds, moral codes, and rejected opportunities, both men end up in the same line. It underscores that their "lights" lead to the same destination.
What does "dishabilitation" mean as O. Henry uses it to describe the Captain?
It is a humorous coinage blending "dishabille" (undressed) with "rehabilitation," meaning the Captain's stripping of rank and respectability -- a kind of un-making of his official status.
What are "kickshaws" as used in the phrase "all the pretty, tiny little kickshaws of Gotham"?
Kickshaws are fancy trifles or delicacies. The word comes from the French "quelque chose" (something). Here it refers to the luxuries and amusements of wealthy New York life that Murray once enjoyed.
What does "Luciferian" mean in the description of Murray's fall?
It refers to Lucifer, the fallen angel cast from Heaven. Describing Murray's fall as Luciferian means it was a dramatic plunge from great height and privilege, though less publicly visible than the Captain's.
Who says "I'd marry the Empress of China for one bowl of chop suey" and what does it reveal?
The Captain says this, revealing his desperate hunger and his willingness to do almost anything for food -- except betray a friend. It establishes the line he will not cross when Finnegan's offer comes.
What is the significance of Murray saying "I think I would play Judas for the price of one drink of whiskey"?
It is dramatic irony -- Murray has just literally tried to play Judas by attempting to turn in the Captain for a reward. The biblical allusion to betrayal for money foreshadows the moral divide between the two men.
What does the Captain mean when he says "You come from the other part. We both act according to our lights"?
He is explaining that New York's social geography produces different moral codes. His world below Fourteenth Street prizes loyalty; Murray's world above Forty-second Street prizes propriety and self-interest. Neither is absolutely right -- each follows his own "lights."