Safety
There was quite a popular opinion back then that Chicago was a rather dangerous place. Those were “the bad old days of Al Capone and Bugs Moran.” Just the winter before, there had been “the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre over on North Clark Street.” Chicago had “such an evil reputation” that the Thompson submachine gun was better known as a “Chicago typewriter.” The irony of that was the fact that the kids saw “a dead body” for the very first time at their Grandma’s relatively safe place.
Bad Reputation
Mrs. Dowdel or just Grandma liked to sound frightening. She had too wicked sense of humor for Effie Wilcox’s sanity. When the woman asked her to send the kids out of the kitchen, so that she could tell her about the disaster that brought her here, Mrs. Dowdel refused. Her point was that they were “from Chicago,” so they had “heard everything.” The irony was that Joey and Mary Alice led less eventful life in Chicago than their Grandma in that small town of hers.
Manly
He was “in the back of the boat, lolling” and then he got “the scare” of his life. “An enormous snake” dropped into the boat. It just missed Grandma’s lap and fell “hissing” between her and him. The last thing he saw “was this thing, thick as a tire, snapping into a coil.” When he came to him, he was informed by Grandma and Mary Alice that he “fainted.” However, the boy refused to believe that. He said that he “passed out,” because it sounded more manly. The irony is that the meaning is the same.
