Author: / Year: 1832 - 1899 / Genre: Saint Patrick's Day The first description of Andy Burke, the hero, presents him on the road; he is returning home from a farmhand position that he held. Although he is stout, strong, and happy, his clothing does not fit, and he is covered in dust. Along the road home he meets fop Godfrey Preston, who insults Andy's mother. Andy baits revenge by calling Godfrey a blackguard. The two begin to fight and Andy soundly thrashes his opponent. Godfrey runs home to complain to his father, Colonel Anthony Preston. Interestingly, the son's faults are not shared by the father; the narrator remarks, "though Godfrey was an only son, his father was sensible enough to be fully aware of his faults" (10). Instead, the narrator explains, Godfrey's egotism is the result of his mother, who was "vain, haughty, and proud of putting on airs" (10). The root of the mother and son's attitudes is a belief in nobility; they are both very un-Democratic and very un-American....
