Evaluate the culture presented in the story. What details do you notice that show this story is not taking place in the United States?

The narrator refers to a number of street names which place the story squarely in Dublin, the capital city of Ireland. As we're told in the very first sentence, the unnamed boy lives in North Richmond Street, the location of the Christian Brothers' School. The school, now known as the O'Connell School, still stands to this day. The opening sentence's reference to the school also hints at the important part that the Catholic Church played in the Ireland of Joyce's day.