Biloxi Blues Chapter Summary & Analysis - Act 1, Scene 1 Summary

Act 1, Scene 1 Summary

The scene opens up in the coach of an old railroad train; the year is 1943. Four boys in their late teens and early twenties are stretched out on the seats, attempting to sleep. A fifth boy, named Arnold Epstein, is asleep in the baggage rack above the other boys. Two of the sleeping boys, Joseph Wykowski and Roy Selridge, get into an argument when Roy, in an attempt to get comfortable, puts his shoeless foot dangerously close to Joseph's mouth.

After they go back to sleep, we are introduced to our main character, Eugene Morris Jerome; he is one of the four boys attempting to sleep on the coach seats. Giving up on sleep, he writes in a notebook. After Joseph and Roy go back to sleep, he begins to address the audience; he tells them that he hates everyone and that the train stinks because no one has...
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