From the moment of his birth, Henry Smart is “big news” for his size and obvious health, so rare in the turn-of-the-century Dublin slums that residents consider it miraculous. With the circumstances of poverty, however, his “glow became a crust, my skin dry and furious” (33). Throughout his life, Henry’s physical appearance oscillates between gorgeousness and a form of ugliness, as he bears the scars of the poverty, war, and hardship that mark his life. Even at 14, dispossessed, with nowhere to go, his height gives the impression that he is someone important. His presence is simultaneously magnetic yet imposing and dangerous.

Henry’s parents make him feel inferior to his dead brother, also named Henry, who is symbolized by a star in the sky. Henry rebels against this by taking up space in his huge, healthy body, roaming the Dublin streets and expanding his world view. He seizes every opportunity at advancement before it can be taken away from him, whether it’s the two-day education he receives at the hands of Miss O’Shea or the trousers that style him as an officer when he is only 14 years old. While Henry outwardly claims that survival is the chief motivating force in his life, he cannot help but be taken in by the prospect of heroism.