- Even at a young age, Augie has high expectations for himself.
- The Coblins are not a good enough fate for him.
- Grandma Lausch finds him various jobs over the years.
- She wants Augie to have the gentlemanly sort of job where he wears a suit.
- Simon, his brother, shows academic promise. He's more focused that Augie.
- Nonetheless, Grandma Lausch has plans for Augie.
- She correctly diagnosis his problem: he's smart, smart enough to do anything, but he's "too easy to tickle," too easy to distract and lead away to something new and exciting.
- When she catches Augie chewing tar with a friend she doesn't approve of (Jimmy Klein), Augie is in her bad books for a long while.
- Simon gives the commencement address at his graduation.
- The school principle mentions both Simon and Augie, who's skipped a grade, in his speech.
- Grandma Lausch tries to motivate Augie to be the commencement speaker the next year, but, despite pushing himself for a while so as to skip a grade, he's not inspired enough to try.
- Simon himself seemed to go a little downhill the next year as well. The family suspects him of dishonesty.
- For a while the two boys work the same job, but Simon soon moves to new work with the Federal News Company, selling papers as newsstands.
- Simon gives money to his mother without Grandma knowing it. This way she can spend it in herself.
- Simon begins to show a rebellious attitude to Grandma Lausch, but doesn't try to depose of her yet.
- The family begins to attempt to get by without Grandma's intervention. Augie and his mother successfully swindle eye glasses dispensary without her added guidance, but only because they're lucky.
- Simon gets moved to a newsstand in an important, high-traffic part of town.
- He sees the occasional celebrity.
- Grandma asks Simon to help Augie get a job, suggesting he offer his boss a bribe.
- Augie has a job at Woolworth's, but it's with Jimmy Klein, whom Grandma doesn't like. And the pay isn't great.
- Augie gets a job at Simon's company, but proves a flop. He loses money every day.
- He's given the boot.
- Augie protests that he couldn't chase down customers who forgot to pay.
- Simon reprimands him for not stealing the money from others to make up the difference.
- Simon stops coming to Augie's defense when Grandma scolds him.
- Unable to get his old job back, Augie and Klein look for new work together.
- Augie also begins to hang out more at the Klein house.
- They have money, but also family drama.
- Augie has been skipping school and seeing shows, partly because his locker mate had stolen his science notebook.
- Simon has to go down to the school to make things right.
- Jimmy's uncle Tambow gets them work helping pass out campaign literature for the Republican Party.