159)Studs, parents had a more challenging youth. The result was that Lonigan actually took much of his life for granted and his parents were largely absent in his life. They wanted the best, but they didn't really invest in keeping young Lonigan out of trouble. Toward the end of the book, his father complained that he had not put William to work all summer painting. Things could have gone very differently for Studs if he didn't have the ability to run free and get into trouble. Can Lonigan change? If he chooses to do so, he can do so. He constantly thinks about his place in the world and towards the end he begins to understand that everything is not as wonderful as he imagined. Lucy was a hard lesson for him and he no doubt sees that direct correlation that led him to this end. In the same way he realizes that he can no longer talk to Helen, he begins to feel guilty and mentally makes the promise to confess. In the end, he leaves the reader with a sense of great resignation, like a child who has just finished a great tantrum and now I had decided there might be a better way. Studs isn't a good fit for the Mount as he's portrayed in this book, but he's a work in progress, he's young, and he still has a lot of growing up to do. Just like his father who "pulled himself up by holding onto the straps of his boots". (Farrell, 1932, p. 19) He was hungry