Previous Next

Ritchie’s tattooing of his inspiration Jimi Hendrix on his right arm evokes the metaphor of wearing your heart on your sleeve. Ritchie’s dedication to an ideal of self-made success reveals his longing to make something of himself despite not knowing what it might be. Night after night, Ed observes Ritchie in solitude, intently listening to talk radio, the picture of a paralyzed man waiting for a miracle. For a smart, healthy twenty-year-old to live at home and spend public welfare money on booze and gambling shows his dereliction of responsibility. Ritchie has an empty void where purpose should be. When Ed tells Ritchie that he dishonors himself, Ritchie realizes that to find inspiration, he must search for it. He takes the first step beyond the immediate gratification of his feel-good impulses by looking for a job where he can be useful.

Previous section Marvin "Marv" Harris Next section Beverly Kennedy

Take a Study Break