John Corcoran directed his skills in a dishonorable direction. He molded his weakness to gain success by devising strategic plans. In the beginning of the story, Gary Smith unveils John as a “hungry eyes” observant. “He could play the part, trick the enemy, infiltrate the game.” (Smith,4). The urge of wanting to prove that he was not “stupid and silent as a stone”, pushed him to give it a shot (Smith,4). Once John realized that he could “infiltrate” the game, it became even easier for him to choose the easy path- giving up. If there is one thing that John learned from “dumb rows”, “yardsticks”, “awful silences” and moving town to town, it was that he could no longer bear the humiliation, it was time to remove the shroud of shame that draped
