The immigrant, and organ-grinder, gives the owner a box of coins for him to take his payment. Because the organ-grinder has no knowledge of the local currency, it is up to the owner to take his share of the coins. The owner splits the coins into two stacks and takes the smaller of the two, although it is worth far more than the taller stack and how much money the organ-grinder owes him. However, the organ-grinder anticipated this and previously stored a small portion of his coins in the pocket of his Capuchin monkey, which is leashed to his belt through a loop.

This incident continues to indicate some of the negative values embodied in the Old Quarter. The organ-grinder’s presumptuous distrust of the owner and the dishonesty of the owner both shine a light on the culture and standards of the Old Quarter. The Capuchin monkey is a recurring symbol throughout the novel and most likely refers to the exploitation of the ignorant masses. Eric writes a note that helps explain this:

CF. VMS in the Bouchard note: “You seek a world populated by trick-monkeys who dance to your tunes for the empty promise of coins.”

Jen and Eric’s notes also correlate with the theme of cheating. In a response to the excerpt, “…this unscrupulous man would cheat him at any opportunity.” Eric writes:

E.G. Moody. (He killed my funding. I even had to pay back some grant $$.)

Wow. So what are you living on?

Not much. I’ve sold some things. It’s not a bad way to live, once you let go of the idea that you deserve more.

Jen also makes a comment on Eric’s comment on the immigrant’s act of trusting the organ owner to take his share of the coin box. Eric notes:

Gesture of trust

To which Jen responds:

(Which rarely goes unpunished in a Straka book…)

What does all this tell us? For one, it’s clear that Straka was not a very trusting person, which might explain why he made a conscious effort to hide his true identity. It seems that Eric has also developed a similar complex as a result of Moody’s betrayal. However, despite this, he seems to have no problem trusting Jen, someone he hasn’t even met in person. This could certainly be an indication of Eric’s feelings for Jen…