The Cricket in Times Square — Chapter 1

About This Passage

George Selden is doing something subtle in this passage: he is personifying the Times Square subway station, giving it a feeling (emptiness) and a need (crowds of people). A station cannot literally wait or need anything, but by writing it that way, Selden turns the setting into a kind of character with a mood of its own. Notice the verb 'dart' — a short, sharp word that captures how people move through a place they do not want to linger in. The whole passage teaches a writer how a setting can be rendered not just as a place but as a state of mind, and how a single vivid verb can carry more weight than a whole sentence of explanation.

Narration Prompt

In your own words, tell the story of this chapter. What were the most important moments? What made them important — and how do you know?

Discussion Questions

1. Tucker Mouse says 'Such a pity' every Saturday night as he watches Mario. Is Tucker's pity the same thing as caring about Mario, or is pity different from real care? What in Tucker's words and actions makes you think so?
2. Paul the conductor flipped a half dollar over the counter for a twenty-five-cent paper, then slid into the train before Mario could give him his change. Is Paul doing charity here, or is he just being a friend? Why does the difference between those two things matter to the way the scene feels?

+ 3 more questions in the complete study guide