The Cricket in Times Square — Chapter 5

About This Passage

The chapter's central philosophical movement: Mr Smedley's refusal to teach Chester music, his digression on Orpheus, and his closing prophecy. Three moments arranged as a single argument about art, nature, and cultural transmission — the teacher refusing to add to what nature has already given, the old story told without gloss, and the final cadence of prophecy addressed to a twelve-year-old and his cricket.

Narration Prompt

Treat this chapter as an essay in three movements: the lunch counter (Mickey's hospitality), the newsstand (Mr Smedley's refusal and Orpheus digression), and the exit (Mario's run to Chinatown over Papa's near-permission). Before discussion, identify the central aesthetic or ethical claim of each movement and propose how Selden orders the three — what is he building toward by placing the Orpheus invocation between Mickey's scaled soda and Mario's unauthorized departure?

Discussion Questions

1. Mickey's preparation of the cricket soda (tablespoon, drop, drop, squirt, fingernail) is a five-step enumeration when the plot requires only 'Mickey made a tiny soda.' Argue whether Selden's refusal to summarize constitutes a specific aesthetic-ethical position, and evaluate its relationship to the broader American midcentury debate between descriptive economy (Hemingway) and concrete enumeration (Marianne Moore, William Carlos Williams). What is the cost of summary?
2. Mr Smedley's claim that 'nature herself' is Chester's teacher and that 'I could add nothing to the genius of this little black Orpheus' is both a compliment to the cricket and a near-abdication of his professional identity. Assess this speech against classical theories of poiesis and techne (Plato's Ion, Aristotle's Poetics, Longinus on the sublime): is Mr Smedley a Platonist, an Aristotelian, a Longinian, or something more idiosyncratic?

+ 3 more questions in the complete study guide