Ham on Rye

At home, Henry’s parents demand to know why he was fired. Over the following days, Henry searches for a new job. He spends his time with his fellows, unemployed, and he misleads gay men so they will buy him alcohol. Each night, he admits to his parents he did not find a job.

Henry blames his German heritage when he cannot get a job at the nearby aircraft plant, as “Hitler was acting up in Europe” (220). His parents agree he should enroll in LA City College and signs up for the easiest class, which he is told is journalism. Since he skips orientation day, he grabs Baldy and demands to know how to find a class. He is hungover when he takes classes. In his first morning English class, he is made to sing along with Gilbert and Sullivan songs to learn “proper enunciation” (223).

At college, Henry must take gym classes. Some time ago, Henry taught Baldy to wear pajamas under his wool pants to prevent itching. In the locker room before gym, Henry yanks down Baldy’s pants and mocks his pajamas. Then, he yanks down Baldy’s pajamas. Rather than joining the mockery, the other students criticize Henry. After, Henry cuts classes and wanders around town.

Robert Becker is an aspiring writer and the only fellow student whom Henry likes. He gives Henry a short story to read and invites Henry to meet his friends. Henry likes the story, especially as his own attempts at writing “didn’t work” (230). He goes out to meet Becker’s friends. They have a drinking contest, and, after a boy runs in and claims he held up a gas station, Henry begins to suspect they are a gang of thieves. He continues to drink. People begin to drop out of the contest, and, eventually, Henry wins $18. As he walks home, he finds an open car and vomits inside. He manages to make the journey home and, the next day, arrives late for his English class. When the professor mocks him, he turns around and leaves.

World War II is “going very well in Europe, for Hitler” (236), but not many students discuss the matter. In contrast, many of the instructors are vocally in favor of going to war with Germany. Henry feels no urge to go to war to protect a life he does not enjoy. He resents people’s anti-German sentiments and sees Hitler as just another dictator telling him what to do. In class, he advocates for fascism to be contrarian, even though he does not believe in Nazism. To his surprise, some students agree with his arguments. One of them, Fenster, invites Henry to a meeting of the Americans for America Party. Henry, Baldy, and a Russian named Igor attend the meeting. A man named Larry lectures against the dangers of “the communist scourge and the black takeover” (240). After, Henry goes to Igor and Baldy to drink alcohol. When Baldy struggles to finish his drink, Igor slaps him and promises to make a man out of him. He insists on playing Russian Roulette. With one bullet in the revolver, Igor spins the chamber and hands the gun to Baldy. Igor and Baldy pull the trigger but nothing fires. Henry refuses to play, and, taking the gun, Igor pulls the trigger. The gun fires. On the way home, they find a boat and row out into a lake. Igor shoots holes in the boat, and they must swim back to shore. Henry returns home while his parents are still asleep.

Walking home from class, Henry thinks about how “everything [is] eternally dreary, dismal, damned” (244). The only difference between his previous dismal state and now is that now he is able to drink. His mother leaps from behind a bush to frantically warn Henry his father found the short stories Henry wrote. Now, he wants to “kill” his son (245). She offers Henry $10 to not go home, where all his possessions were thrown on the front lawn. Henry collects his things and goes “somewhere downtown” (247).

Henry finds a room to rent. He visits a nearby bar and meets the Filippino clientele. During the day, he continues to attend college so that he has “somewhere to be” until the bars open (249). One day, Jimmy Hatcher finds Henry. He reveals that Henry’s parents paid a private investigator to track down their son. Jimmy and two friends, Delmore and Fastshoes, enter Henry’s apartment and drink whiskey with him. Henry explains he is “writing term papers for the other people” to make money (250). They play cards and then gamble on flipped coins. Henry wins their money and, when they get too drunk, kicks them out. Henry takes a disliking to Fastshoes and hits him in the face. Jimmy drags his bloody friend away, with Henry still threatening him. His landlord and two Filipino men in the hall decline his offer to share a drink. His landlord threatens to call the police. Henry goes to a bar to spend his winnings.

Becker visits Henry. He has joined the Marines but still wants to be a writer. Henry shares this ambition but complains the literary world is “still publishing 19th Century stuff, heavy, labored, pretentious” (258). They bicker, and Henry defends his alcohol addiction. They fight until Henry is knocked out. He wakes up beneath his bed in a destroyed room. With his landlord and her friends outside, Henry realizes he must leave. He packs his suitcase and runs out into a cab.

Still bearing the wounds from his fight, Henry searches for another place to stay and finds a shack in the back of a house. He pays for a week in advance and sits in his room, drinking wine. During the night, a previous occupant of the shack tries to sneak in. Henry chases him away and returns to bed, thinking about how he will “have to pick up a knife” (265).

After an English lecture, Mrs. Curtis speaks to Henry after class. She asks what “troubles” (267) him. She knows he decided to quit college. He senses she is promising to have sex with him if he stays for another term, but he leaves anyway. He empties his gym locker and, on his way out, is summoned by Baldy to “watch that stocky guy in the gym suit” (269). He watches one man play football in a strong, seemingly undefendable manner. Eventually, Henry gets up to challenge the strong player, who is nicknamed King Kong. During the first down, Kong flattens Henry. The same thing happens again. On the next down, Henry manages to hurt Kong. He does it again and, as he pretends to help Kong, inflicts more injuries on the big man. Kong is “pretty busted” (272). Henry’s friends congratulate him. Henry leaves the campus.

Henry prepares for a future among society’s most marginalized people. All he knows is he likes to be alone. He feels embarrassed for interrupting his neighbors while they have sex as this is “all [poor people] had” (275). Henry drinks wine and listens to the city. The next day, he wakes up with a hangover and encounters Becker. They go drinking together.

Becker talks enthusiastically about his plans to be a writer and see the world. As they drink, a radio bulletin announces the news of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. As Becker ponders what this means for his future, the barkeeper offers him a drink on the house. Henry walks Becker to the bus depot, where excited military men talk about killing Japanese people or say goodbye to their loved ones. After bidding farewell to Becker, Henry walks along the streets. He goes into a penny arcade and plays a boxing game with a small Mexican boy. The boy defeats him twice as Henry tries to figure out why the game seems so important. He turns around and walks out.