Between Rounds Flashcards
by O. Henry — tap or click to flip
Flashcard Review
Flashcards: Between Rounds
Where does "Between Rounds" take place?
Mrs. Murphy's private boarding house in New York City, on a bright May evening.
Why is Mrs. McCaskey angry when her husband arrives home?
He is hours late for supper, which has gone cold, and she believes he has been drinking his wages at Gallegher's.
What is the first item Mrs. McCaskey throws at her husband?
A stewpan full of bacon and turnips.
What stops the McCaskeys' fight midway through the story?
A loud scream from downstairs -- Mrs. Murphy discovers her six-year-old son Mike is missing.
What do the McCaskeys argue about during the tender truce?
What they would name the child they never had -- she insists on "Phelan" (after her brother), he insists on "Pat" (after his father).
Where is little Mike finally found?
Asleep behind a roll of old linoleum under the bed in Mrs. Murphy's own room.
What happens immediately after Mike is found safe?
Mrs. McCaskey heads for the dish closet and the couple resumes their fight, louder than before.
What does Mr. McCaskey claim about politeness as he enters the boarding house?
He calls it "the mortar between the bricks of the foundations of society," right before engaging in a violent argument with his wife.
Why does Policeman Cleary refuse to intervene in the McCaskeys' fight?
He considers it a married couple's business and one of their few "pleasures," predicting it won't last long.
What does Major Griggs do when he volunteers to search for Mike?
He asks his wife for sixty cents for "carfares" and goes straight to Billy's bar for a drink.
How does Mr. Toomey use the missing child crisis?
As an opportunity to sit beside Miss Purdy and hold her hand in "sympathy."
What is old man Denny doing throughout the entire crisis?
Sitting on the lowest step trying to read the newspaper, barely looking up from an article about the carpenters' strike.
What do the Misses Walsh suggest when they hear Mike is lost?
They ask if anybody has looked behind the clock.
How does the McCaskeys' argument about the child's name reveal their deeper feelings?
Even in their most tender moment, they can only express affection through disagreement -- showing that conflict is their default mode of connection.
What does the community's reaction to the missing child reveal about human nature?
Nearly everyone uses the crisis for selfish purposes (a drink, a romantic move, indifference), yet genuine concern still surfaces, showing compassion and selfishness coexist.
What does the story's circular structure -- fight, truce, fight -- suggest about the McCaskeys' marriage?
That their conflict is a permanent cycle, not a problem that can be resolved by a single moment of tenderness.
How does O. Henry challenge the idea that New York is a cold, heartless city?
The narrator compares the city to a lobster -- hard-crusted outside but with "delectable" substance beneath -- arguing that a lost child can still touch the "common heart of humanity."
How does O. Henry structure the McCaskeys' food fight as an extended metaphor?
He describes each thrown item as a dinner course -- entree, return dish, finger bowls, cordial -- turning domestic violence into a darkly comic parody of formal dining.
What is ironic about Mr. McCaskey's speech on politeness?
He lectures his wife that politeness is the foundation of society, then immediately engages in a violent food fight with her.
What contrast does O. Henry set up in the story's opening paragraphs?
The beautiful, blooming spring setting outside is juxtaposed with the ugly domestic conflict inside, highlighting the gap between nature's harmony and human discord.
What is the effect of O. Henry's use of Irish dialect throughout the story?
It grounds the characters in their specific immigrant community, adds humor and authenticity, and distinguishes each character's voice.
What does "gossoon" mean in Mrs. McCaskey's dialogue?
It is an Irish English word for a young boy, from the Irish "gasun."
What does "table d'hôter" mean in the context of the food fight?
A person who eats a fixed-price multi-course meal. O. Henry calls Mr. McCaskey "no 50-cent table d'hôter" to say he won't stop at the coffee course.
What does "faux pas" mean when O. Henry uses it during the fight scene?
A social blunder. O. Henry jokes that considering coffee the final course would be a faux pas in the McCaskeys' "dining" battle.
Who says "When ye run down politeness ye take the mortar from between the bricks of the foundations of society"?
Mr. McCaskey, moments before he and his wife begin hurling food at each other -- making his lofty words deeply ironic.
What observation does the narrator make about lost children?
"No calamity so touches the common heart of humanity as does the straying of a little child. Their feet are so uncertain and feeble; the ways are so steep and strange."
What does Mr. McCaskey say to his wife during their truce that hints at genuine regret?
"Sometimes I've been ugly and hard with ye, Judy. Forget it." -- a rare moment of vulnerability before the fight resumes.