A Bottle Of Milk For Mother
Nelson Algren's short story "A Bottle of Milk for Mother" is a fateful narrative about
Bruno "Lefty" Bicek, a boy from the streets of Chicago. The story starts off with the
arrest and interrogation of Bruno. The Racine Street police (15) want answers out of
Bruno and even use illegal tactics to get what they want to know. Bruno's tongue is faster
than his brain, which eventually catches up to him and leads him to confess to the murder
he has committed.
The story of Bruno "Lefty" Bicek takes place during 1938-1941. The economic setting
in America at the time was shifting from the Depression into World War II. The story is
made credible because he is knowledgeable of the names of streets such as Division (17),
Oak Street beach (23), Potomac Street (24), and Fry Street (24). He also knows the
people of the streets, which he often talks about like Catfoot (24), Snake (25), Dropkick
(16), Finger, Chiney-Eye (17), and Bibleback (24). In addition he speaks the slang of the
streets and says such phrases as nutsin' around (18), moll- buzzards (15), hexin' (18), and
jackrolling (15). He also knows about the cars that are on the street because while he is
getting questioned he hears a Ford V-8 pull into the rear of the station (22) and he also
heard either a '38 Chevvie or a '37 Ford dragging its safety chain against the car tracks
(26). All of these facts show that Bruno "Lefty" Bicek is just a boy from the streets of
Chicago.
Bruno's social setting is very significant to his fate as well. His clothes do not fit him
(15), which demonstrates that he is poor, and cannot afford to buy newer clothes. His
ethnic background is Polish, who are looked down...
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