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| Plot Summary of The Young Manhood of Studs Lonigan |
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" “The Young Manhood of Studs Lonigan,” the second novel in James T. Farrell's trilogy begins with Studs dropping out of high school in 1917. All he is interested in is hanging around the pool hall with his pals, keeping up his reputation as a tough guy, and getting close to his childhood sweetheart, Lucy Scanlon. After some lame attempts at finding work, he takes a job with his father as a painter, but his real life is still out in the streets. He and his friends make fun of the younger guys, the punks. They terrorize Blacks and Jews. They do a lot of drinking and chasing after “loose” girls.
As time passes the neighborhood begins to change. Old pals leave, some die. Some of them go to college. Blacks begin to move in. But life for Studs seems a dead end. He keeps making vows that he will change, stop drinking, stay away from the pool hall, and become a decent guy. When his sister talks him into buying a ticket to her sorority's dance, he decides to look up Lucy and see if she will be his date. She agrees, but when he mauls her on the way home, she runs in the house and refuses to see him again.
As time passes, Studs finds that he is no longer the tough character he used to be. He puts on weight. He boxes with one of the young punks and gets beaten fairly easily. He gets fatigued moving furniture out of his family's apartment. Late nights and booze have taken their toll on him. Farrell paints a picture of a self absorbed young man unable to rise above his environment."
Jack Goodstein, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of The Young Manhood of Studs Lonigan |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- depressed
Time/era of story
- 1900-1920's
Kids growing up/acting up?
Yes
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Age group of kid(s) in story:
- high school
Wild kid(s)?
- committing crimes
Loving/sexing?
- girl chasing
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- blue collar
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Irish/McCourt
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- very athletic
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- unemployed
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a little/some
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- very athletic
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 4 ()
United States
Yes
The US:
- Midwest
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
Amount of dialog
- significantly more dialog than descript
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Click here for more information about this book
James T. Farrell Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 Jack Goodstein
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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