(4) You chose 4.

This is a good answer. Henry was right in thinking that a good way to keep up a conversation is to choose topics in which the other person is interested. But Henry overdid the choice of topics. He reacted to the name of O'Neil, thought "Irish," and then brought up all he knew about Irish-American culture. There is no evidence that Mr. O'Neali has any identification with Irish culture--many, many Americans have Irish names but have little or no interest in Irish matters over and above those of any other country. In addition, Mr. O'Neil may have sensed that he was being categorized or stereotyped. He may have felt that he was being put in an "Irish category," and then subjected to all the stereotypical images of the category. Many people resent this process. Sojourners have to be careful not to overuse stereotypes and must be careful about making decisions (in Henry's case, topics for conversation) based on stereotypes.

Back to the incident.