Not Drugs The Anatomy of Melville's Melancholy (Thoreau:

[John Bailey]

Denis doesn't do much. Neither does Tito. Downstairs Eddie barely gets
mentioned. Sauncho's a bit more active, but mainly as an information
provider.

But here's the thing - what does Doc do for his friends? Where's the
kindness without recompense? Entirely directed at (relative)
strangers. Doc's friendships are functional - he goes to his buddies
when they can do something for him.

I'd be his friend because he lives an interesting life, but I wouldn't
expect him to ask me out for a beer just to catch up.

On Tue, Nov 17, 2009 at 2:12 PM, alice wellintown
<alicewellintown at gmail.com> wrote:
> What does Denis do that matters?
> Does he do anything in this work that causes us to think or question or feel?
> Or is he just a comic character set next to Larry/Doc to cast shadows
> and hear conversations?
> He reminds us of Homer's pal, Barney.
>