Part 4, pages 213-232 Summary

The next morning, the narrator wakes early and sneaks out of the house. He walks through the city streets. He hasn't eaten in a day, and all he's had for weeks is bread and butter. He falls asleep on a bench, and when he wakes, the city is awake. It's a beautiful day. He walks to the pier and feels cheerful, watching the men working on the boats. He tries to write, but he can't get the tone right. He finally decides that he must return to the rooming house.

The narrator sneaks in the hall door and finds the landlord crouching at the door to the family room, peeking in through the keyhole and laughing. He calls the narrator over to share in the joke. The landlady is inside, having sex with the longshoreman underneath a lithograph of...