Adapted from Our Mr. Wrenn: “Mr. Wrenn is Lonely” by Sinclair Le

​Adapted from Our Mr. Wrenn: “Mr. Wrenn is Lonely” by Sinclair Lewis

The ticket taker of the movie theater is a public personage, who stands out on Fourteenth Street, New York, wearing a gorgeous light blue coat of numerous brass buttons. He nods to all the patrons, and his nod is the most cordial in town. Mr. Wrenn used to trot down to Fourteenth Street, passing other shows, just to get that cordial nod, because he had a lonely furnished room for evenings, and for daytime a tedious job that always made his head stuffy.
He stands out in the correspondence of the Souvenir and Art Novelty Company as “Our Mr. Wrenn,” who would be writing you directly and explaining everything most satisfactorily. At thirty-four, Mr. Wrenn was the sales entry clerk of the Souvenir Company. He was always bending over bills and columns of figures at a desk behind the stockroom. He was a meek little bachelor—a person of inconspicuous1 blue ready-made suits, and a small unsuccessful mustache.
Today—historians have established the date as April 9, 1910—there had been some confusing mixed orders from the Wisconsin retailers, and Mr. Wrenn had been “called down” by the office manager, Mr. Mortimer R. Guilfogle. He needed the friendly nod of the theater ticket taker. He found Fourteenth Street, after office hours, swept by a dusty wind. Under the elevated station he secretly made believe that he was in Paris, for here Italian boys swayed with trays of violets; a tramp displayed crimson mechanical rabbits, which squeaked, on silvery leading-strings; and a newsstand was heaped with the orange and green and gold of magazine covers.
“Gee!” inarticulated Mr. Wrenn. “Lots of colors. Hope I see foreign stuff like that in the moving pictures.”

5-He came primly up to the theater, feeling in his vest pockets for a nickel and peering around the booth at the friendly ticket taker. But the latter was thinking about buying Johnny’s pants. Should he get them at the Fourteenth Street Store, or Siegel-Cooper’s, or over at Aronson’s, near home? So ruminating, he twiddled his wheel mechanically, and Mr. Wrenn’s pasteboard slip was indifferently received in the plate-glass gullet of the grinder2 without the taker’s even seeing the clerk’s bow and smile.

6-Mr. Wrenn trembled into the door of the theater. He wanted to turn back and rebuke this fellow, but was restrained by shyness. He had liked the man’s “Fine evenin’, sir”—rain or shine—but he wouldn’t stand for being cut. Wasn’t he making nineteen dollars a week, as against the ticket taker’s ten or twelve? He shook his head with the defiance of a cornered mouse, fussed with his mustache, and regarded the moving pictures gloomily.
They helped him. After a Selig3 domestic drama came a stirring Vitagraph4 Western scene, “The Goat of the Rancho,” which depicted with much humor and tumult the revolt of a ranch cook. Mr. Wrenn was really seeing, not cowpunchers and sagebrush, but himself, defying the office manager’s meanness and revolting against the ticketman’s rudeness. Now he was ready for the nearly overpowering delight of travel-pictures. He bounced slightly as a Gaumont film presented the island of Java.
8-He was a connoisseur of travel-pictures, for all his life he had been planning a great journey. Though he had done Staten Island and taken an excursion to Bound Brook, neither of these was his grand tour. It was yet to be taken. In Mr. Wrenn, apparently fastened to New York like a domestic-minded barnacle, lay the possibilities of heroic roaming. He knew it. He, too, like the man who had taken the Gaumont pictures, would saunter among Javanese natives in “markets with tiles on the roofs and temples and— and—uh, well—places!” The scent of Asian spices was in his broadened nostrils as he scampered out of the theater, without a look at the ticket taker, and headed for “home”—for his third-floor-front on West Sixteenth Street.
He wanted to prowl through his collection of steamship brochures for a description of Java. But, of course, when one’s landlady has both the sciatica5 and a case of Patient Suffering one stops in the basement dining room to inquire how she is.

Multiple Choice

How do Mr. Wrenn’s actions contribute to the development of the theme?

• A Mr. Wrenn’s dislike of travel makes him nervous about meeting new people.

• B Mr. Wrenn’s love of travel and adventure helps him to imagine a more exciting life.

• C Mr. Wrenn’s dislike of the ticket taker causes him to miss the opportunity for a great experience.

• D Mr. Wrenn’s love of socializing is more important than travel.

Multiple Choice

What can be inferred from paragraph 5? A The ticket taker is preoccupied; therefore, he neglects to present his normal smile. B The ticket taker is angry with Mr. Wrenn; therefore, he refuses to present his normal smile. C Mr. Wrenn is angry with the ticket taker; therefore, he refuses to acknowledge his smile. D Mr. Wrenn is preoccupied; therefore, he fails to notice the ticket taker.

• A The ticket taker is preoccupied; therefore, he neglects to present his normal smile.

• B The ticket taker is angry with Mr. Wrenn; therefore, he refuses to present his normal smile.

• C Mr. Wrenn is angry with the ticket taker; therefore, he refuses to acknowledge his smile.

• D Mr. Wrenn is preoccupied; therefore, he fails to notice the ticket taker.

Multiple Choice

What do Mr. Wrenn’s thoughts in paragraph 6 reveal about his view of the ticket taker?

• A Mr. Wrenn views himself as inferior to the ticket taker.

• Mr. Wrenn views himself as superior to the ticket taker.

• C Mr. Wrenn views the ticket taker as an enemy.

• D Mr. Wrenn views the ticket taker as a close friend.

Multiple Choice

Which quote reveals Mr. Wrenn’s timid nature?

• A “At thirty-four, Mr. Wrenn was the sales entry clerk of the Souvenir Company.”

• B “He was always bending over bills and columns of figures at a desk behind the stockroom.”

• C “He shook his head with the defiance of a cornered mouse, fussed with his mustache, and regarded the moving pictures gloomily.”

• D “Mr. Wrenn was really seeing, not cowpunchers and sagebrush, but himself, defying the office manager’s meanness and revolting against the ticketman’s rudeness.”

Multiple Choice

How does the perspective of Mr. Wrenn at the movie theater create irony in the selection?

• A Mr. Wrenn believes the ticket taker is rude, but the ticket taker is unaware that he has hurt Mr. Wrenn’s feelings.

• B Mr. Wrenn believes the ticket taker is rude, and the ticket taker knowingly hurts Mr. Wrenn’s feelings.

• C Mr. Wrenn imagines that he is traveling on an adventure with the ticket taker.

• D Mr. Wrenn imagines that he is traveling while paying for his ticket at the movie theater.

Multiple Choice

What does the author mean by “connoisseur of travel-pictures” in paragraph 8?

• A a person who is enthusiastic about movies filmed in other areas

• B a person who lacks interest in movies about other places

• C a person who is enthusiastic about traveling to see movies

• D a person who lacks interest in traveling to see movies

Multiple Choice

How do the different perspectives of the ticket taker and Mr. Wrenn affect the story?

• A The ticket taker’s friendliness to the unfriendly Mr. Wrenn creates a tone of confusion.

• B The ticket taker’s indifference to Mr. Wrenn’s need for attention creates a tone of isolation.

• C The ticket taker’s enjoyment of movies and Mr. Wrenn’s indifference to them creates a tone of disappointment.

• D The ticket taker’s commitment to his job compared to Mr. Wrenn’s laziness creates a tone of unfairness and resentment

Multiple Choice

Which statement provides an objective summary of the selection? A A lonely man has a ticket taker as his one true friend. He has dreams of visiting faraway places with this friend. B A lonely man feels unappreciated at his job. He seeks an opportunity to advance his career by relocating to a different area. C A lonely man rents an apartment from a lady he views as a good friend. Although he likes where he lives, he longs for a better job. D A lonely man relies too much on a false sense of friendship. He wishes for a more fulfilling life to help him forget about his troubles.

• A A lonely man has a ticket taker as his one true friend. He has dreams of visiting faraway places with this friend.

• B A lonely man feels unappreciated at his job. He seeks an opportunity to advance his career by relocating to a different area.

• C A lonely man rents an apartment from a lady he views as a good friend. Although he likes where he lives, he longs for a better job.

• D A lonely man relies too much on a false sense of friendship. He wishes for a more fulfilling life to help him forget about his troubles.