The Homecoming

The Homecoming Summary | Act 1, Scene 1 Summary

The play opens with Lenny sitting and looking at a newspaper in the large front room of the old London house he shares with his father and brother. His father, Max, comes in, looking for the scissors because he wants to cut something out of the paper. He thinks that Lenny's paper is own, but Lenny tells him it's not. Max sits and asks for a cigarette, and when Lenny doesn't give him one, he takes one out of his own pocket and lights it. Max recalls threateningly how he used to hang around with a tough called MacGregor, a big man who was fond of Lenny's mother, whom Max speaks of in nasty terms. Lenny asks Max for advice on betting on a horse, which gets Max talking about his days at the Epsom racecourse. He speaks of his instinctive understanding for animals, and how he could look female horses in the eye and know whether they could go the distance. Lenny and Max bicker about Max's cooking, leading Max to grab his cane as if to hit Lenny. Lenny mocks him.

Max's brother Sam comes in after a long day's work as a chauffeur. He offers Max a cigar from a box he got as a tip from an American fare, and as he and Max smoke cigars, Sam brags about being the best chauffeur in the firm. He goes on to explain that he's the best because he's the best driver and because he doesn't take liberties, i.e. speak when he's not supposed to.

As Lenny goes out, Max taunts Sam about Sam's not being married and asks whether it's because he's too busy having sex with clients in the back seat of the limousine. Sam protests that he's never done that kind of thing in his life, unlike "other people." Max wonders what he means, but Sam says nothing more. Max tells him that when he finally does get married he can bring his bride home, and there'll be a big family party. Sam doubts that there will ever be a bride, not like Max's bride Jessie, whom Sam describes as a charming woman.

Max's second son Joey, a boxer, comes in after working out and wonders if there's any food. Max loses his temper, and as Lenny returns complains that his sons always want him to take care of them. Lenny sarcastically refers to how Max used to like tucking his sons into bed, and calls Max "Dad" even though Max tells him to stop. Max threatens Lenny with violence, and Lenny goes out again. Max then taunts Joey, saying he's got few boxing skills. Joey protests that he has lots of skills, then goes upstairs.

Max tries to get Sam to go upstairs too, but Sam wants to make another point about Jessie. He reminds Max that when he took Jessie out in the limo, he was taking care of her for Max because he wouldn't have trusted any of his other brothers - or Mac either. Max calls Sam a maggot and a grub, and says that as soon as Sam retires, he's out. Sam reminds Max that he owns part of the house; it was an inheritance from their mother. Max comments caustically that neither generation is any better than the other, describing them as "one flow of stinking pus after another." He then recalls fond memories of his father, MacGregor, who took good care of him and played with him.