- Home life in the dark and dreary tenement is no treat either.
- "[S]mall and ragged" Maggie—the big sister—and "bawling" Tommie (2.2)—the baby brother—are there to greet father and Jimmie in the family's chaotic, filthy apartment.
- In terms of human wrath, no one compares to Mother Mary. She's Jimmie, Maggie, and Tommie's mom, as well as a raging alcoholic abuser who careens around the apartment and busts up furniture just to make a point. Nothing makes her more abusive than her son's relentless habit of getting into fights, though, and today she comes out swinging.
- Oh, and Dad's an alcoholic, too, but he likes to seek respite by doing his drinking at a local bar.
- Jimmie receives some sympathy from a neighbor.