Chapter 39 — Teaching Companion

What it asks It asks the student to carry the narrator’s line from the town into the people of the chapter. The chapter opens on the gambling raids. Everyone knows when one is coming; the police get ready, the gambling houses get ready, and the papers set up their editorials “in advance.” Twenty or more Chinese, a few bums and some travelling salesmen are jailed and fined, and “The town relaxed in its new spotlessness.” The narrator adds, “It is one of the triumphs of the human that he can know a thing and still not believe it.” Then the chapter turns to Cal, and the line keeps finding new owners. Adam tells Cal he was a prisoner for nearly a year “for just being there”; Cal says “I don’t believe it,” and Adam answers, “Sometimes I don’t either.” He says that Samuel Hamilton told him he was a bad father when the twins were babies, “And now I know what he meant.” In the gray room Kate says twice, “The light hurts my eyes,” and Cal answers, “I don’t think the light hurts your eyes. I think you’re afraid.” At the very end Joe says, “the less you know, the better off you are.” The question touches the hinge: before Cal claims he simply knows what he is, the chapter shows how many people hold a truth at arm’s length.

One reading

Kate. She has built a room with no windows and says she rests there because the light hurts her eyes. She says it once, sees Cal glance at her eyes, and says it again “with finality,” as if saying it could make it so. Cal does not believe her. If he is right, she knows what she fears and will not let herself believe it, much as the town keeps its spotlessness by not looking.

• The light hurts my eyes.
• I don’t think the light hurts your eyes. I think you’re afraid.

Another reading

Adam, and he says so himself. He knows he spent nearly a year in prison and that he robbed a store when he escaped, yet “Sometimes I don’t either.” Samuel told him long ago that he was a bad father, and only this morning does he say he knows what Samuel meant. He had all the facts for years; the breakfast is the first time he believes them.

• Sometimes I don’t either, but I know that when I escaped I robbed a store and stole some clothes.
• And now I know what he meant.

Listen for

• Asks whether “triumph” is said straight or as a joke, and how the staged raids set the line up.
• Hears the line again in Adam’s “Sometimes I don’t either” and in Kate’s twice-said “The light hurts my eyes.”
• Notices that Joe ends the chapter by choosing not to know: “the less you know, the better off you are.”
• Keeps Cal’s “I think you’re afraid” as Cal’s reading of Kate; she never admits it.

If stuck

• What does everyone in Salinas know before a raid happens?
• What does Adam say when Cal does not believe he was in prison?
• What reason does Kate give for the gray room, and does Cal believe her?

A strong answer A strong response names someone in the chapter and grounds the choice in the page. One reader says Kate: she says twice that the light hurts her eyes, the second time “with finality,” and Cal thinks she is afraid. Another says Adam: he admits that sometimes he does not believe his own prison year, and only now knows what Samuel meant long ago. The best answers carry the narrator’s line from the town to the people, ask whether “triumph” is meant straight, and notice that Joe closes the chapter by choosing not to know at all.

What it asks It asks the student to read one simile closely. Adam has fetched Cal from jail and said nothing to him but “Come along!” At breakfast he stares into his coffee. “In the clock-ticking silence Cal began to be afraid. He felt a strength flowing out of his father he had never known was there.” His legs prickle and he is afraid to move them. He knocks his fork against his plate and “the clatter was swallowed up.” Then: “As the fear began to chill, resentment took its place. So might a trapped fox feel anger at the paw which held him to the trap.” Cal jumps up before he knows he will move and shouts, “Do what you’re going to do to me! Go ahead! Get it over!” In a trap, what is held is the fox’s own paw. A little later, when Adam tells him he did nothing wrong, Cal says, “Maybe being there was wrong,” and the narrator says, “Cal wanted a blame for himself.” In the gray room Kate will boast, “Nobody can trap me.” The question touches the hinge: whether what holds Cal is in himself or outside him is the chapter’s question in small.

One reading

Cal’s own. In a real trap the paw that holds the fox is its own leg. Cal is caught by something in himself: he went to Shorty Lim’s “Many times,” and when his father refuses to blame him he goes looking for blame. Even his body holds him; his legs prickle and he is afraid to move them. His anger is at himself, and it bursts out at the nearest person.

• Cal wanted a blame for himself.
• Itching prickles of agony ran up his legs, and he was afraid to move to restore the circulation.

Another reading

Adam’s. The thing that holds Cal is the strength he feels flowing out of his father, a silence so heavy it swallows his fork and the clock. Adam is the paw, and Cal turns on him: “Do what you’re going to do to me!” The anger is at the one holding him there, and it is a boy’s anger at a father who, minutes later, admits he has not seen his sons “as people.”

• He felt a strength flowing out of his father he had never known was there.
• Do what you’re going to do to me!

Listen for

• Reads the picture closely: in a trap, the paw that is held is the fox’s own.
• Uses the silence, the swallowed clatter and the clock’s “nine deliberate strokes,” as what Cal is caught in.
• Notices the narrator’s “So might,” and that Cal moves and shouts before he knows he will.
• Sets the trap beside Kate’s boast, “Nobody can trap me,” without making the two the same.

If stuck

• What does Cal feel first in the silence, and what takes its place?
• In a real trap, what part of the fox is held?
• What does Cal want when his father says he did nothing wrong?

A strong answer A strong response says whose paw it is and grounds the answer in the breakfast. One reader says Cal’s own: in a trap the fox is held by its own leg, Cal has been to the gambling house “Many times,” and minutes later he “wanted a blame for himself.” Another says Adam’s: Cal feels “a strength flowing out of his father,” the silence swallows every sound he makes, and he turns on his father with “Do what you’re going to do to me!” The best answers read the picture literally before they read it as a figure, and notice that in the gray room Kate boasts that nobody can trap her.

What it asks It asks the student to read the last moment of the first section. Cal has said he does not think he will hate anyone, “not even my mother,” and stopped, “astonished at his slip.” Adam says, “You know about your mother.” The narrator adds, “It was not a question.” Cal says Aron does not know and could not stand it: “He hasn’t enough badness in him to stand it.” He wants to add “any more than you could, sir,” but leaves it unsaid. Adam asks, “Do you think there’s any chance of keeping Aron from knowing? Think carefully.” Cal has been to her house: “I had to know.” He hopes Aron might go away to college. Adam asks, “But you’re smarter?” and Cal says, “A different kind of smart.” Then “Adam seemed to grow until he filled one side of the room. His face was stern and his blue eyes sharp and penetrating.” He says “Cal!” harshly, and then, “I trust you, son,” and the section ends. The next section opens, “Adam’s recognition brought a ferment of happiness to Cal.” The question touches the hinge: this trust is what Cal carries out of the dining room and, in the end, into the gray room.

One reading

His brother. The whole talk just before is about keeping Aron from knowing, and Adam told Cal to “Think carefully.” Cal has a plan and the “different kind of smart” to carry it out. The stern face and the harsh “Cal!” are the face and voice of a man handing over a hard job. Adam is trusting Cal with his brother.

• Do you think there’s any chance of keeping Aron from knowing? Think carefully.
• A different kind of smart

Another reading

Himself. Adam has just learned that his son knows “All about” his mother and has been to her house. That is the knowledge Cal is most ashamed of, and Adam answers it not with an order but with trust in Cal himself. Earlier he told Cal he “shouldn’t be ashamed.” The narrator calls what follows “Adam’s recognition,” not his command: he has finally seen his son.

• But you shouldn’t be ashamed.
• Adam’s recognition brought a ferment of happiness to Cal.

Listen for

• Notices the turn from harsh to warm: Adam seems to fill the room, says “Cal!” and then gives his trust.
• Uses what comes just before: the slip about his mother, “All about her?” and the talk of keeping Aron from knowing.
• Reads the narrator’s word for it in the next section, “recognition,” and asks what Adam has recognized.
• Claims nothing about what Adam will say to Aron; he says only that he “might have a talk with Aron.”

If stuck

• What has Adam just learned that Cal knows?
• What do father and son talk about right before Adam says “Cal!”?
• How does Cal walk and act in the weeks after?

A strong answer A strong response says what Adam is trusting Cal with and grounds it in the end of the talk. One reader says his brother: the talk is about keeping him from knowing, Adam says “Think carefully,” and the stern face belongs to a man handing over a hard job. Another says himself: Adam has just learned Cal knows “All about” his mother, and he answers the thing Cal is most ashamed of with trust; the narrator calls it “recognition.” The best answers hear the harshness and the trust together, and notice how this trust changes the way Cal walks and what he does next.

What it asks It asks the student to weigh two kinds of knowing. Cal sets out to watch Kate as a guard would: “He set himself to learn all he could about her. A known enemy is less dangerous, less able to surprise.” He learns her Monday route to the minute: the safe-deposit vault at the bank, the dress shop, Minnie Franken’s beauty parlor at about two-fifteen, Dr. Rosen at three-thirty, a two-pound box of chocolates. “She never varied the route.” Because she walks looking straight ahead, “he was convinced that she did not notice him.” In the eighth week she is standing behind the privet when he strolls past: “This isn’t the first time you’ve followed me. What do you want?” She asks, “Who told you to do it?” When he tells her she is his mother, she says, “What? What is this? Who are you?” Then Cal feels “the delicate change of balance as when a seesaw moves. His was the upper seat now.” She looks at him closely and “observed every feature.” The question touches the hinge: this is the first time mother and son look at each other. In the gray room Kate will claim to know what Cal is, “Sure, you’re my kind,” and Cal will claim to see her fear.

One reading

Kate. Cal was sure he was unseen, and he was wrong: she knew she was being followed, and she was waiting behind the privet when he came by. His eight weeks gave him the outside of her life, a route and a box of chocolates, and nothing of why. In one look she “observed every feature” of his face, and in the gray room she reads him again before he has said much at all.

• This isn’t the first time you’ve followed me.
• I might have known you’d cover up.

Another reading

Cal. Kate saw a boy behind her, but she did not know who he was or why he came; she guessed that someone had sent him. He knows her route, her hours, her name and what she did to his father. When he says who he is, the seesaw tips his way, and though her face does not change, Cal knows “she was on the defensive.”

• Who told you to do it?
• His was the upper seat now.

Listen for

• Sets what Cal learned on the Mondays, a route and its hours, beside what Kate takes in with one look at his face.
• Reads Kate’s first guess, “Who told you to do it?”, and her “Who are you?” as signs of what she did not know.
• Uses the seesaw: Cal takes the upper seat only when he says who he is.
• Claims nothing about what Kate keeps in the vault or what Dr. Rosen treats her for.

If stuck

• What does Cal learn about Kate on the Mondays?
• What does Kate say when she stops him at the gate?
• When does Cal feel the seesaw move, and which way?

A strong answer A strong response says who knows more and grounds it in the Mondays and the gate. One reader says Kate: Cal thought he was unseen, but she knew she was being followed, and in one look she “observed every feature” of his face. Another says Cal: she had to ask who he was and guessed that someone had sent him, while he knew her route to the minute, and when he spoke the seesaw tipped his way. The best answers ask what kind of knowing each one has, a route watched from outside or a face read at once, and keep the vault and the doctor as the chapter keeps them, unexplained.

What it asks It asks the student to read the one moment in the gray room when Kate loses hold of herself. She asks, “How’s your father?” Cal says, “I don’t want to talk about him.” She says, “Oh, no! You like him then?” and he answers, “I love him.” The narrator says, “Kate peered closely at him, and a curious spasm shook her—an aching twist rose in her chest. And then she closed up and her control came back.” She offers him candy. When he asks why she shot his father and ran away, she asks whether any “girls or young women” come to the house. Later she tells how Adam nursed her: “He tried to tie me down that way. Most people get tied down that way. They’re grateful, they’re in debt, and that’s the worst kind of handcuffs.” Asked whether she ever wished she had stayed, she says, “Christ, no!” The chapter names no feeling here, only a spasm and an ache. The question touches the hinge: Cal’s love for his father is something in him that is not hers, and it reaches her.

One reading

Something she lacks. The word “aching” belongs to loss. A son saying plainly that he loves his father is a thing Kate has never had, or chose not to have, and for a moment it gets past her guard. The narrator says her control “came back,” which means for a moment it was gone. Her “Christ, no!” later may be the control speaking.

• a curious spasm shook her—an aching twist rose in her chest
• And then she closed up and her control came back.

Another reading

The love itself, as a threat. To Kate, love and gratitude are how people get tied down. Cal’s love means Adam has the boy, and has him in the way she escaped. She steadies herself, and when Cal asks why she shot his father, she asks instead about women at Adam’s house. What hurts is not longing but the sight of the handcuffs on someone else.

• They’re grateful, they’re in debt, and that’s the worst kind of handcuffs.
• Christ, no!

Listen for

• Stays with what the page gives, a spasm and “an aching twist,” and does not name a feeling the chapter does not name.
• Notices what Kate does right after: the candy, and her question about women at Adam’s house.
• Uses Kate’s own account of how people get tied down, and her “Christ, no!” about staying.
• Keeps Kate a person in pain and fear as well as cruelty, not a plain monster.

If stuck

• What does Cal say when Kate asks about his father?
• What happens to Kate when he says it?
• What does Kate say about why she left Adam?

A strong answer A strong response says what hurts Kate and grounds it in the moment and what follows. One reader says something she lacks: “aching” is a word for loss, and her control “came back,” so for a moment it was gone. Another says the love itself, as a threat: to Kate gratitude and love are “the worst kind of handcuffs,” and soon she is asking about women at Adam’s house. The best answers stay with the spasm the page gives, notice what Kate does next, and keep her a person and not a monster.

What it asks It asks the student to read one speech against an earlier one. At breakfast Cal told his father about Aron: “I cheat him and I fool him. Sometimes I hurt him for no reason at all.” Adam asked, “And then you’re miserable?” In the gray room Cal asks Kate again and again why she shot his father, and each time she puts him off. Now she says, “You talk older than your age,” and “But you don’t talk old enough. Maybe you’d better run along and play—and wipe your nose.” Cal answers, “Sometimes I work my brother over,” and then, “I make him squirm, I’ve made him cry. He doesn’t know how I do it. I’m smarter than he is. I don’t want to do it. It makes me sick.” The narrator says, “Kate picked it up as though it were her own conversation.” Her first words are “They thought they were so smart,” and she ends, “I fooled every one of them.” A few minutes later she says, “Sure, you’re my kind.” The chapter does not say why Cal tells her. The question touches the hinge: what Cal offers Kate of himself here is what she will claim as hers, and what he will later call his own.

One reading

That he is no little boy, and that he is like her. She has just sent him off to wipe his nose, and he answers with the worst thing he can do and a boast. He is claiming a place beside her, and she gives it to him: she takes up his words as if they were hers and, minutes later, calls him her kind.

• I’m smarter than he is.
• Kate picked it up as though it were her own conversation.

Another reading

That it makes him sick. He tells her what he told his father at breakfast, and he ends on the shame, not the skill. Adam heard the misery and asked about it. Kate hears only the cleverness. If Cal is testing her, her answer is the first sign that she does not have what he has.

• I don’t want to do it. It makes me sick.
• And then you’re miserable?

Listen for

• States a thesis about what Cal wants Kate to hear, and grounds it in where the speech falls, right after “wipe your nose.”
• Sets the speech beside the breakfast, where Cal told his father the same thing and Adam asked, “And then you’re miserable?”
• Notices which half Kate takes up: “They thought they were so smart” answers “I’m smarter than he is,” and nothing answers “It makes me sick.”
• Meets the strongest objection and revises, and claims nothing about Cal’s reasons beyond what he says and does.

If stuck

• What has Kate just told Cal to go and do?
• What did Cal tell his father about Aron at breakfast?
• Which of Cal’s words does Kate pick up, and which does she let drop?

A strong answer A strong response builds a thesis about what Cal wants Kate to hear, meets the strongest objection, and revises. One thesis says he wants her to see that he is no little boy and is like her: she has just told him to wipe his nose, he answers with his cruelty and “I’m smarter than he is,” and she takes it up “as though it were her own conversation.” The strongest objection is that he ends on the shame, “It makes me sick,” as he did with his father, who asked, “And then you’re miserable?” A good revision might say he offers her both halves and watches which one she takes: she takes the smartness and lets the sickness drop, and that choice shows him something about her. The best answers use the breakfast and claim nothing the chapter does not give about his reasons.

What it asks It asks the chapter’s whole question. At breakfast Adam says, “Nobody can be remelted,” but that morning Cal finds “The poison of loneliness and the gnawing envy of the unlonely had gone out of him.” In the kitchen “He dredged up an old hatred to test himself, and he found the hatred gone.” He tells his father he does not think he will hate anyone, “not even my mother.” In the gray room Kate says, “Sure, you’re my kind.” Then Kate, “as she had always, drove in the smart but senseless knife of her cruelty,” telling him that if he has fits he did not get them from her, and “anticipating the shock and beginning worry in him.” Cal speaks “happily.” He says, “I was afraid I had you in me.” Kate says, “You have.” He answers, “No, I haven’t. I’m my own. I don’t have to be you,” and, “I just know. It just came to me whole. If I’m mean, it’s my own mean.” He tells her he does not think the light hurts her eyes, that he thinks she is afraid. At the door he says, “I don’t hate you,” and “But I’m glad you’re afraid.” Her voice thickens “to a croak,” and he slams the door. The chapter does not say whether Cal’s new happiness will last.

One reading

Free. Cal leaves without hatred, as the kitchen test promised. The gladness is relief: the woman he was afraid of turns out to be afraid herself, so her power over him was never what he feared. He even takes his meanness from her and calls it his own. A boy who still carried her would not walk out happy.

• He dredged up an old hatred to test himself, and he found the hatred gone.
• No, I haven’t. I’m my own. I don’t have to be you.

Another reading

Carries her. Gladness at someone else’s fear is exactly what Kate shows when she glances up at Cal, waiting for the shock. At the door Cal does to her what she tried to do to him, and slams it. His own sentence gives it away: the meanness is still there, whatever name he puts on it.

• Kate, as she had always, drove in the smart but senseless knife of her cruelty.
• If I’m mean, it’s my own mean.

Listen for

• States a thesis on what the gladness shows, and reads the two sentences together, “I don’t hate you” and the “But” that follows.
• Uses the breakfast as evidence: the hatred tested and found gone, and Adam’s “Nobody can be remelted.”
• Meets the strongest objection and revises: the gladness can look like Kate’s cruelty, or like a boy’s relief.
• Claims nothing about whether Cal’s happiness lasts or what Kate will do next.

If stuck

• What does Cal find when he tests himself in the kitchen?
• What does Kate try to frighten Cal with just before he leaves?
• What does Cal say he will own if he is mean?

A strong answer A strong response builds a thesis on what the gladness shows, meets the strongest objection, and revises. One thesis says he is free: the kitchen test found his hatred gone, he leaves saying “I don’t hate you,” and the gladness is relief at finding that the woman he feared is afraid. The strongest objection is that gladness at someone’s fear is what Kate herself shows when she waits for “the shock and beginning worry” in him, and that Cal says it on the way out and slams the door. A good revision might say the gladness is both: it is cruel, and Cal claims the cruelty as his own, which is the only freedom he says he has. The best answers weigh “I don’t hate you” and “But” together, use Adam’s “Nobody can be remelted,” and claim nothing beyond this chapter.