Kessler used to be an egg candler, and is living alone in a cheap apartment located on the top floor of a decrepit tenement building on the East Side of New York City.
He had been up to the apartment on occasion to play two-handed pinochle with Kessler, but grew tired of losing and stopped going up to see him.
Gruber knew his janitor was exaggerating, but tells Ignace to give Kessler notice.
He instructs Ignace write a note stating that Kessler's money was refused and asks him to slide it under the door.
Acting on the information he has received from Ignace, Gruber tells Kessler he doesn't take care of his place and he fights with the janitor.
Kessler sat quietly examining his past life, and is filled with miserable regret.
Gruber, frightened at Kessler's state of emotions, starts to reconsider his position and thinks he ought to allow the old man to stay.
His first impulse is to run out of the apartment, however, he envisions himself tumbling five flights to his death and groans at the vision of himself lying lifeless at the bottom.
The Hoffmans – a sullen, childless German couple living on one side of Kessler who never bother to say hello or exchange a pleasant greeting with him.
The last name Gruber is a nickname from the inflected form of Yiddish dialect grub or coarser grubber jung, meaning ‘rude, impolite.’ The theme of bleakness is highly prevalent in many of Malamud's works.
Malamud describes the Hoffmans as a sullen, childless German couple, emphasizing they don't smile much.
The narrator also reveals that Kessler's “eyes were reddened, his cheeks sunken, and his wisp of beard moved agitatedly.” Other items are described with negative adjectives like “soiled,” “oily,” or “yellowed,” presenting a dull picture for the reader.
Gruber had a choice to continuing acting as the rude tormentor or accept the responsibility of aiding his tenant.
The act of responsibility also overcomes the sons of the Italian woman as well as other neighbors who once shunned Kessler.
The sight of Kessler sitting outside in the snow was so harrowing that they feel compelled to carry him and his belonging back inside to his apartment.
The narrator allows readers a glimpse into Kessler's thoughts near the end of the story, as he reflects on his past life.
Heavily saddened, Kessler recognizes that he shirked his responsibility of staying with his family no matter his fate.