CHAPTER SUMMARIES WITH NOTES

CHAPTER 24

Summary

Adam emerges from a drugstore to find that his bike has been stolen. He feels alone and nervous. He still has his fatherÂ’s package, which he holds. He notices an alleyway and decides that it would be the perfect get away for someone stealing a bike.

Adam meets a strange man with a southern accent, who calls him honey. The man says to find out where things are you have to offer a reward. Adam says he can offer a twenty-five dollar reward. The man says that there are all kinds of rewards as he scratches his cheat and stomach. Adam trembles and begins to cry. Another man from inside yells for the man to tell Adam who took his bike. The man, Arthur, tells Adam that Junior Varney, a local thief stole it.

Notes

In this chapter Adam displays both cowardice and bravery. When he encounters Arthur he cries, yet he is prepared to hunt down Junior Varney for his bike. There is a reoccurring theme of homosexuality in this novel that appears again. We first saw it when Adam recalled how Amy sent love letters, impersonating a make student, to an overly masculine teacher. Then we saw the bullies driving a pink car. Now Adam encounters Arthur, who is obviously a homosexual. It is possible that Cormier is subtly linking the outward appearance homosexuality with AdamÂ’s inward feelings of vulnerability. When he remembers AmyÂ’s prank, he is unsure of who he is and about to try to find out. When the pink car confronts him, he is knocked down into a ditch. When he meets Arthur, he is without his bike.

CHAPTER 25

Summary

Brint and Adam talk about his time in Monument. Brint want s to know more specifically about AdamÂ’s fatherÂ’s testimony. Adam does not know anymore. Brint asks if Adam grew closer to his father after he learned the secret. Adam says yes.

Adam asked his father if it was hard to leave Blount. His father said it was, but it was harder for AdamÂ’s mother, who loved it there. AdamÂ’s father missed being a newspaper reporter. Adam asked why Grey comes to the house so frequently. His father told him that Grey brought money bonuses and sometimes asked for details that became important. AdamÂ’s father suspected that Grey also wanted to keep an eye on him, to make sure he had not been reached by the other side. Adam asked his dad if he gave information about the mafia. His father said he could not tell Adam for his own protection. He thought GreyÂ’s visits are to see if he had given all the information he knew. His father said he and Grey often sat like enemies, looking at one another during the meetings.

Brint probes Adam to find out if his father really did tell Grey everything he knew. Adam stops and comments that Brint looks the way AdamÂ’s father described Grey: his face is giving Adam the chills. Brint says he is only human and had a bad nightÂ’s sleep. Adam does not trust Brint and believes he is not a doctor after all. However, he realizes he is dependant on Brint to rediscover himself.

Adam remembers all of the changes his father told him about. He did not wear glasses or a mustache before they moved. He used to smoke, but had to quit. Martha was AdamÂ’s motherÂ’s sister. She was a cloistered nun who lived in Maine. For that reason, she was allowed to talk to Louise.

Adam stopped and asked Brint why he never asked about his mother, only his father. Brint said he was only a guide. At first Adam could not even remember her face.

Notes

In this chapter we learn that Adam truly does not believe Brint is a doctor; yet, he is dependant upon him. Another twist is introduced when we realize that AdamÂ’s father was suspicious of Grey. Perhaps he is not to be trusted either.

Cormier continues to use flashback in the chapters in which Brint and Adam talk. Flashback is when a character remembers something that happened earlier. This is a useful technique because Cormier is able to provide the reader with a detailed description of what has already happened. This is necessary to keep an air of suspense to the story, because we discover things as Adam does.

Table of Contents | Downloadable/Printable Version