Chapter 28 Summary

Paddy and the narrator stay together for about the next two weeks. Paddy is an uneducated Irishman, about thirty-five years old. "His ignorance was limitless and appalling. He once asked me, for instance, whether Napoleon lived before Jesus Christ or after." When the narrator goes to the library, Paddy stays outside, not wanting to be where all those books are.

Self-pity is a large part of his character, but he is a good person and generous by nature. The narrator claims that it is malnutrition and not any native vice that has destroyed his manhood.

Chapter 28 Analysis

In Paddy, the author introduces us to another person who is down and out. Paddy is different from Boris in temperament, and the two form an interesting contrast.

Whereas Boris had dreams and could become very excited about a new prospect, even talking about the luxuries...