Payton > Recent Status Updates

Brother Jack takes the narrator to a scene where he will have to present and speak about equality and the Brotherhood as an organization. He stands there nervous, and the smell of the room partially reminds him of a boy's lockerroom. He begins to worry that when he gets on the stage, he will not be himself. He questions his name. He doesn't feel like his legs are his own. He feels completely dissociated for a moment.

The narrator wakes up in a hospital, but at first, he is unaware of the fact that he is receiving treatment. He is acutely aware of this pounding, cramped feeling in his head and panics. The doctors hold him down, and after seeing a mirror and light, he is aware that he is receiving some treatment. He is slightly relieved but still panicked by the pain he is enduring in the hospital. The doctors have a "cure".

The narrator talks to the Vet on the bus, and the Vet offers a slimmer of advice to him, talking consistently to the bus driver named Crenshaw. On the bus ride, the narrator dreams of being obedient to his new superior in his job. He believes that they will shower Bledsoe with favorable feedback about him. Eventually, he thinks, he will return to college and become a model for the whole student body.

The narrator continues his meeting with Dr. Bledsoe. There, Dr. Bledsoe allows him to see that the white men will likely shame him for what he did. They might spew lies, but they have access to resources like the news and radio to make their lies seem true even if the narrator proved them wrong. His truth would become their truth. Then, Bledsoe tells the narrator he should travel to New York for the summer for a job.

Chapter 6: The narrator returned to the college and entered Dr. Bledsoe's office. Bledsoe recounts the story with him, and he is furious. He remarks on how stupid the narrator is, confused as to why he would not lie to the trustee. The narrator, of course, believed that lying to Mr. Norton might get him into more trouble than not. However, Bledsoe disagrees, insinuating that the whole institution is built on lies.

The narrator listened to Barbee's story of the Founder and how his life proceeded, the promises he made, and the present outcome of the Founder's work. The narrator is overrun by the emotion he feels during this sermon. Only when the narrator hears instrumentals that his mother and father sincerely enjoyed does he run out of the chapel, overwhelmed with guilt. He awaits Bledsoe, feeling he will be expelled.

The narrator and founder of the campus continue driving down the road. The narrator takes the founder to a more rural side of campus, driving past a cabin. The founder is fascinated. The narrator describes them as cabins built during slavery times. He also explains that the people there do not like the university, and the founder is dumbfounded by this notion. He cannot understand why they would not.

The narrator drives an older, rich white man around his college campus. The white man is a founder of it, and he goes into great detail talking about how he founded the campus. He also says that the narrator is his fate. The narrator is confused by this, asking how he could possibly tell his man his fate. The white man also says that his daughter played a hand in opening the school, but it's not clear what occurred.

The sailor, Marlow, seems to be incredibly passionate about sailing. He describes the previous generations of men who have traveled up the river Thames, and he interprets their bravery--or lack-there-of. He begins to tell a story of how he originally entangled himself with fresh-water sailing. He talks about how when he was little he was fascinated with the world, and he made it his purpose to travel everywhere.

A few men are currently on a steamboat traveling up the River Thames. They seem tired but complacent.There is a Lawyer and an Accountant. There is also a man named Marlow, the first person tobe referred to by name rather than occupation. He is described as a seaman, but the book reports that he is a poor example because he wanders in places other than the sea. He is seemingly intellectual as he knows a lot of history

Curley's wife gets panicked as Lennie gets somewhat carried away when he strokes her hair. One thing led to another, and Lennie snaps Curley's wife's neck. Candy finds Curley's wife dead and tells George. Eventually, all the other guys find out, and they start their witch hunt. Carlson exclaims that his luger is missing, but in the end, it is clear that George stole it. George is the one to kill Lennie in the brush.

Crooks protested again Curley's Wife's presence, and she put him in his place quickly, explaining that she could have him killed. Curley's Wife bothers them so more because she's chased out by the boys coming home. George is skeptical about Candy and Lennie telling Crooks about the farm. In the next chapter, Lennie kills another pup. As he mourns over it, Curley's Wife finds him and continues her flirting with him.

Lennie and Crooks continued to talk, Crooks speaking about his struggles with being lonely on the farm. Lennie hardly pays attention to him, pondering over George and the rabbits. Candy then finds them, and Crook allows him into his room, feigning anger. While Candy, Crooks, and Lennie talk about the land they are going to have, Curley's wife finds them. She asks about Curley, and they all lie to her.

Lennie eventually fights with Curley, who targets him specifically even though the arguments concern the entire ranch. Lennie allows Curley to hit him repeatedly until George reassures Lennie it is okay to fight back. Lennie grabs Curley's hand and crushes it in his grip. Slim makes him promise not to tell the ranch owner. While they take Curley into town, Lennie talks to the black stable boy.

George and Lennie return to discussing their dream of having a farm and caring for rabbits. George goes on about his image of the place, and it's abundantly clear he misses his old home. Perhaps he wishes that he had not met Lennie so that he could stay there. Candy, the old man, joins their conversation and says that he could put 350 dollars into the farm if Lennie and George would let him work there. They agreed.

Lennie learns of the puppies that Slim's dog recently birthed,and George promises to get him one. George tells Slim about their past, too. Carlson, another worker on the ranch, wants Candy, an old man working on the ranch, to take one of the puppies too.Candy has this old dog with no teeth and a foul smell. Carlson hates this old dog, and every time it's bought up, he asks Candy to shoot the old dog and get a new one

Lennie and George got introduced to Slim and Carlson. Slim is described as this magnificent, royal being, demonstrating the weight he holds to many people on the farm. They say that he is a prince. However, the first thing he says to George and Lennie contains a swear word and an indication of a strong accent. This juxtaposition shows that on the farm, people care less for education and more for skill. He has puppies

The boss's son, Curley, almost sizes Lennie up. He's small, but he has experience in the ring. The Old Man says that Curley likes to fight bigger guys (like Lennie) just to show that he could. George tells Lennie to stay far away from him to avoid starting trouble on the ranch. Curley has a wife, and she's been around with other guys on the ranch like Slim. She sees George and Lennie and gets flirty with them quick.

George and Lenni then met the boss, who was angry that had not made it in time to work the mornings. Lennie didn't say anything unless George nodded or gave a signal to show that he could speak to them. This was agreed upon beforehand. Curly then appears. He's the boss's son, and he's terribly suspicious of Lennie. George lies to them, saying things like Lennie is his cousin and he got kicked in the head by a horse.

George and Lennie finally reach the ranch they plan to work on. An old man shows them their beds, and the living conditions are not excellent. The Old Man, because George identified lice and bedbug repellent on his bed, says a blacksmith used to stay there. He emphasizes the blacksmith was happy and "just quit," which gives the vibe that the blacksmith did not "just quit." People on the ranch also appear to be racist

George continues to get angry at Lennie, talking about how he always manages to get the pair in trouble. They got kicked out of town this time because Lennie attempted to pet a woman's dress. Lennie starts talking about how if George did not want him, he would leave and go off and live in a cave. George becomes ashamed for yelling at Lennie and tells him they he wants Lennie to stay.

George, because Lennie does not remember events clearly, explains why they are traveling away from home. George says that they are going to work on a ranch because they ran from their old place. Apparently, Lennie did something that would cause them to run. Lennie was also discovered to be holding a dead mouse in his pocket. He was petting it as he walked. George tears this way from him and throws it away.

The book begins by describing a section of a river in a clearing. It appears to be fall, and there is wildlife in the area. Two men are introduced: Lennie and George. They are dressed similarly, but they are of very different stature. The larger of the two takes a long drink from the river, saying that it was suitable. The other is hesitant, questioning whether the water was good enough to drink. He is suspicious.

After the airplane crash, Billy was sent to a hospital. His wife, who had simply been told that Billy would die, rushed to the hospital immediately. On her way there, she got in a car crash and passed away. Billy was neighboring a man with a broken leg at the hospital, Rumfoord. He was an old millionaire writing a history book on American War. He could not find a single thing on the bombing of Dresden.

Billy met with Trout, who was actually not a famous author. He was nothing at all, just a scared old man who ran a newspaper ring. Trout was surprised to have met a fan. He only knew of Rosewater (Billy's friend in the psych ward), who had written him a letter once. This letter was awful. Billy invited him to his 18th anniversary. There, Billy hears a song. The song's chords tear him up effectively and harshly.

The Americans in the slaughterhouse were visited by Mr. Campbell, an American who left to fight with the Germans. Edgar Derby, after Campbell asked for the prisoners to fight with the Germans too, stood up and told him that he was worse than a rat. Billy explains that no one was a character in the book except for Derby at that moment. This emphasis on the lack of "character" further drives the pointlessness of war.

Billy had been in a plane crash. He and the copilot were the only ones to survive. While he was laying in the snow with a fractured skull, close to losing consciousness, he says the german pronunciation of "Slaughterhouse-five." Back in Dresden, a war widow prepares meals for the men. One soldier is deemed too young, another too old, and the woman asks what Billy is even supposed to be. He says he's trying to survive

Billy Pilgrim, with his shiny boots and a blue curtain wrapped around his shoulders, walked through Dresden to the holding place for the prisoners. Few of the Dresden citizens inferred that he was making fun of the war, but Billy knew that he looked like that because Fate had costumed him. He had shiny boots and a blue curtain because of his need to survive. The place that housed the prisoners was a slaughterhouse.

The Englishmen lectured the Americans on how to maintain proper hygiene; this was the thing that was supposed to encourage them to keep living. The Englishmen also said they wish they were the Americans. They say this because the Americans are going to Dresden, a pretty, safe city. The irony of this is that Dresden gets bombed in the future. They elect Edgar Derby as the "head American." Billy sympathizes with him.