logo

Reading in the Dark

Seamus Deane

Reading in the Dark

Seamus Deane

  • 39-page comprehensive study guide
  • Chapter-by-chapter summaries and multiple sections of expert analysis
  • Featured in our Historical FictionIrish Literature collections
  • The ultimate resource for assignments, engaging lessons, and lively book discussions

Reading in the Dark Part 3, Chapter 6 Summary & Analysis

Chapter 6 Summary

People in Small Places, June 1958


Once, Katie told the narrator a story about an experience that Tony had while working as a bus conductor. In the story, a man named Sean travels on Tony’s bus, and he carries a briefcase that contains only one baby sock. Sean explains, “The day I find its match, I stop all this travelling” (220). His infant daughter died, and Sean believes that she will not be able to enter paradise until he finds the matching sock. 


Crazy Joe and Mother, October 1958


After he gets out of an asylum, Joe often visits the narrator’s mother. During one of these visits, he “cavorted and performed,” talking about his time in the asylum and the abuse he suffered from the male nurses (223). One day he says, “But for all that, missis, for all that, I never told them your story” (223). The text does not clarify what this story is, but it suggests that the story was the fact that the narrator’s mother dated Tony. 


Mother, November 1958


The narrator’s mother seems to know that the narrator has discovered her history with Tony, and “She kept up a low-intensity warfare” (225).

blurred text

Unlock this
Study Guide!

Join SuperSummary to gain instant access to all 39 pages of this Study Guide and thousands of other learning resources.
Get Started
blurred text