How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
"I've got a mean disposition. Attempted assassinations make me mad." (8.46)
The Op gets sore at Noonan when he realizes that Noonan was trying to get him killed. Why does the Op need to act so tough? Is it all an act, or does he think it's necessary to be "mean" if he wants to take on the big guys?
Quote #2
"I'd seen you maul him around. […] He's in love with you, and this isn't the first time you've done it. He acted like he had learned there was no use matching muscle with you. But you can't expect him to enjoy having another man see you slap his face."
"I used to think I understood men," she complained, "but, by God! I don't. They're lunatics, all of them."
"So I poked him to give him back some of his self-respect. You know, treated him as I would man instead of a down-and-outer who could be slapped around by girls." (10.72)
This conversation takes place between the Op and Dinah. Dinah likes to push Dan around, and sometimes even slaps him when she's angry. In the macho world of Personville, a man can't just sit there and let another man witness his woman beating him up. So the Op explains that he had punched Dan to give him his self-respect back. Why is beating people up equated with self-respect? What's up with that?
Quote #3
"Plans are all right sometimes," I said. "And sometimes just stirring things up is all right—if you're tough enough to survive, and keep your eyes open so you'll see what you want when it comes to the top." (10.91)
The Op is trying to stir up trouble, see what happens when he gets people all riled up. He's definitely tough enough to take on whatever trouble he causes, but is his masculine aggression an asset or a flaw? Shmoop amongst yourselves.
Quote #4
"I promise you nothing," I said. "Why should I? I've got you with your pants down. Talk to me or Noonan. And make up your mind quick. I'm not going to stand here all night." (14.53)
In this exchange, the Op accuses MacSwain of being the real murderer of Tim Noonan. We have yet another battle of testosterones here as MacSwain tries to avoid the Op's questioning, and the Op won't let up on his bullying. Eventually the Op beats the truth out of MacSwain (figuratively speaking, of course).
Quote #5
"I've got to have a wedge that can be put between Pete and Yard, Yard and Noonan, Pete and Noonan, Pete and Thaler, or Yard and Thaler. If we can smash things up enough – break the combination – they'll have their knives at each other's backs, doing our work for us. The break between Thaler and Noonan is a starter. But it'll sag on us if we don't help it along." (15.29)
Red Harvest is a man's world if ever there was one. The whole city is controlled by competing male gangsters, and the Op is counting on their male competitiveness to lead them into a gang warfare. Do you think the Op's method of testing the characters' masculinity is morally acceptable?
Quote #6
She pouted and said: "You think you know everything. You're just hard to get along with." (16.63)
Dinah has to hold her own ground in a world full of tough guys, and we think she does a pretty good job of it. She's not afraid to call the Op out when he's being macho for no good reason. And maybe her bluntness is why the Op finds himself spending more and more time with her.
Quote #7
I don't like being manhandled, even by young women who look like something out of mythology when they're steamed up. I took her arms off my shoulders, and said: "Stop bellyaching. You're still alive." (17.16)
Part of being macho in Red Harvest means not letting women get the better of you. The Op definitely doesn't act the part of the gentleman when he's around the ladies. He's better described as a brute or a scoundrel, and he doesn't seem to care whether or not his poor manners offend anyone around him.
Quote #8
Elihu Willsson opened the meeting.
He said things couldn't go on the way they were going. We were all sensible men, reasonable men, grown men who had seen enough of the world to know that a man couldn't have everything his own way, no matter who he was. Compromises were things everybody had to make sometimes. To get what he wanted, a man had to give other people what they wanted. He said he was sure that what we all most wanted now was to stop this insane killing. He said he was sure that everything could be frankly discussed and settled in an hour without turning Personville into a slaughterhouse. (19.8)
Elihu's speech is a pretty good one, but it's meant to be read ironically. Not only does Elihu not really believe in what he's saying, but as readers we are also aware the irony behind his words because none of the men in Personville are "sensible." A big reason why these gangs are competing against each other is because no side is willing to compromise. And we also know that this senseless killing isn't going to stop until everyone is dead. It's a pretty bleak state of affairs.
Quote #9
There were a lot of men in the corridor when I left McGraw. Some of these men were young—just kids—quite a few were foreigners, and most of them were every bit as tough looking as any men should be. (22.43)
When the Op leaves the police station, he observes a group of men in the corridor and even these unknown nameless men are described in terms of their toughness. The Op seems to be impressed by the fact that these men are "tough looking," which emphasizes just how important it is to exhibit one's masculinity in the ruthless city of Personville.
Quote #10
I knew pain had stopped him, but I knew he would go on talking as soon as he got himself in hand. He meant to die as he had lived, inside the same tough shell. Talking could be torture, but he wouldn't stop on that account, not while anybody was there to see him. He was Reno Starkey who could take anything the world had without batting an eye, and he would play it out that way to the end. (27.85)
In the final minutes of his life, Reno refuses to let down his masculine façade. This is one of the rare passages that underlines how masculinity is mostly all an act: Reno won't stop talking tough as long as there's anyone around to see him (meaning he will always be performing his tough guy act if there's an audience). The fact that Reno will "play it out that way" until his last dying breath suggests that the men in this world wouldn't know how to survive without their hard exterior shell.