While Jimmy O’Leary in O’Connor’s “Man of the World” uses observation to detach himself from others, Larry’s responsiveness causes him to form reciprocal relationships that make him visible and emotionally accessible to people he observes.
Jimmy’s observations leave him detached from others and not attached to them at all. This also attributes to his false appearance of superiority and sophistication. “Jimmy would not associate with most kids” (1), he would merely observe them and stand against the wall with a “knowing smile”(2). Therefore, he had no attachment to the kids in front of him. It even seems like Jimmy barely considers or appreciates the fact that Larry is coming for his holidays at his house. Jimmy would elegantly look through his binoculars without leaning out the window and with as little existence as possible to be noticed by others. Jimmy would make the light statement of “I believe they had the bailiffs in a few weeks ago” (2), expressing little emotion and interest along with detachment from hearing such a simple admiration of which Larry has for his house. Jimmy would observe the sociality of people and bring himself far from ever examining their personality as he’d say, “He’d
better mind himself, that one is dynamite” (2), and in a way express his false superiority but also express detachment from consideration. Jimmy doesn’t even consider knowing or making attachment to Mrs. MacCarthy; he’d only consider the fact that “a newly married couple” lives in her house that she rents out. Jimmy was always at the relaxed end of life in the fact that he would be calm and sophisticated, not being excited over small things whatsoever. All these traits of observation and little attachment of Jimmy’s are illustrated in his actions while he and Larry peep on the neighbor couple before bed. Jimmy has everything planned of what he and Larry will do to the point that it is revealed to be a routine thing for him, with little excitement or anxiety as he calmly leads the way upstairs with the touch of “making an appearance that we’re going to bed.” Jimmy is described as “he were waiting in the cinema for the show to begin” (5), as they watched the couple prepare for bed and what he and Larry had hoped would be a little more than just sleep. Jimmy merely detaches himself from all things as he observes this “movie” and has little to consider at the end and says only, “don’t judge it by tonight.”
While Jimmy is at that end of the broad array of ways of seeing, Larry is at the complete opposite of it in that he views
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