Requiem for a Dream: A Novel

As Marion feared, the supply of heroin on the streets dwindles again; Harry and Tyrone are back to wandering the dangerous streets. Unable to get their fix and shooting heroin only to fight off withdrawals, she and Harry begin to argue. They used up their supply the previous night, and Marion is in a hysterical mood. She messes up while shooting up sleeping pills and injures her arm; she blames Harry. Tyrone calls with a lead, so Harry meets up with him. They had mutually fallen into the habit of withholding money from each other, so they use their extra cash to take a cab to where the action is. Marion, meanwhile, agonizes about waiting: She feels she has been waiting her whole life for life to begin. She recalls past therapy sessions with Arnold before she had begun sleeping with him.

The police seem to be everywhere on the streets. Harry and Tyrone press on through the freezing cold, not daring to talk to anyone for too long, in case they have drug paraphernalia on them, and they get arrested as accessories. Eventually, one of Tyrone’s contacts points him to a lead, Big Tim, who is holding some strong heroin, but he is not selling. Instead, he is exchanging it for sex with women. Marion is in hysterics when he returns without a large supply, but she calms down when they shoot up. Harry tells her about Big Tim, and he is secretly relieved when she says they should look into the lead, implying that she is willing to have sex with Big Tim if it means they will receive more heroin.

Sara is kept sedated on Thorazine in the psych ward. Being force-fed by the nurses is a traumatic experience. Dr. Reynolds accuses Sara of being uncooperative and sends her to her first shock treatment session. She goes passively, in a drug-induced haze, wheeled by nurses, who then strap her in for shock treatment. As the electricity courses through her body, all she can do is scream in her head.

Harry, Marion, and Tyrone go to see Big Tim. The ride over is awkward; neither Marion nor Harry knows what to think or feel. Marion shot up before leaving, and Harry convinces himself he is all right with Marion sleeping with Big Tim for heroin. Tyrone calls Big Tim at a coffee shop.

Big Tim’s apartment is in a high rise overlooking Central Park. Marion did not know what to expect; Big Tim is hospitable and jovial, his laugh reminding her of Santa Claus. They drink and smoke hash, listening to a John Coltrane record. However, when it is time for Marion to perform fellatio on him, she gets nauseous and has to run to the bathroom to vomit. It is only the thought of heroin that gives her the will to carry out the act. Harry and Tyrone, meanwhile, go to the movies for a double feature, but Harry cannot pay attention as he thinks about what Marion and Big Tim must be doing.

After Marion and Big Tim have sex, Big Tim pays her with 10 baggies of heroin. He laughs at her naivete when she puts them in her purse without counting, recognizing that she is new to exchanging sex for drugs. He advises her to hide the baggies where they will be safe from a purse snatcher. She gets the hint and hides them in her vagina. When she returns to Harry and Tyrone in the coffee shop, she tells them Big Tim gave her eight baggies of heroin. Later on, when she is alone in her apartment, she holds the two bags she withheld from Harry and Tyrone, listening to Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony.

The nurses cease force-feeding Sara and insert a feeding tube, strapping her to a chair so she cannot resist. In her drug-addled state, she still cannot comprehend what is being done to her, registering only terror and agony. The nurses leave her strapped to the chair. Unable to ask for help, she soils herself. The nurses tell her she should be ashamed but continue to leave her there, sitting in her own urine and feces for two days, until her next shock treatment.

Marion goes to see Big Tim again, and Harry scores a good amount of heroin on the streets. They hide some of their stash and money from one another and agree not to tell Tyrone about the eight new baggies of heroin Marion brought back. Meanwhile, Alice leaves Tyrone and moves back to Georgia. Tyrone does not care; maintaining her habit was just another hassle. He just wants to look out for himself.

Sara remains unable to ask for help or comprehend her situation. Harry, Marion, and Tyrone hold out more and more from each other. Marion sees Big Tim several times a week and tells Harry that the payment is now only six baggies. Harry does not even care if she is lying to him. Whenever she feels a pang of regret about her dreams of Europe or the café she and Harry planned to open, Marion shoots up or thinks of her stash.

Harry and Tyrone listen to other addicts talk about Florida, where, according to rumors, the major distributors are holding out on huge stashes of heroin. Harry gets the idea for him and Tyrone to leave the cold streets of New York to try to buy a decent amount of heroin in Florida. Tyrone warms up to the idea, and they begin planning.

They borrow $100 from Marion and get a car from Gogit. Before they leave, they shoot up. Harry is having a harder and harder time finding a vein, resorting to injecting between his fingers, and ultimately using a spot on his arm that has begun to fester. They depart at 9 o’clock at night, hoping to beat traffic and avoid any police. Harry tries to ignore the growing soreness in his arm. When they stop at a Howard Johnsons to eat and shoot up in the bathroom, Tyrone notes that Harry’s arm looks bad; Harry cannot get another vein to work, so he shoots up in the festering hole in his arm anyway.

Harry and Tyrone drive through the night. As the sun comes up, they become fearful. Neither has been outside of New York; Tyrone has never even left New York City. They start to realize the gravity of their situation and panic, though neither lets on to the other that they want to turn back. Harry’s arm develops a blinding pain. He rolls up his sleeve, and they see it is badly infected. Meanwhile, Big Tim promises Marion a good amount of heroin for providing sexual entertainment for a party; Marion agrees.

Sara’s course of shock therapy is over; she is blank and can barely manage a smile, let alone proper communication. A judge commits her to a state psychiatric hospital. Ada and Rae visit her, bringing Sara’s favorite food, but they leave after an hour, dismayed about the horrible decline of their friend.

Harry and Tyrone’s fear intensifies as they approach Miami. People at gas stations and diners in the South refuse to serve them. Harry cannot take the pain in his arm any longer, so they stop at a clinic. A doctor examines his infected arm, then goes into another room and calls the police, suspecting Harry and Tyrone are drug addicts.

Harry and Tyrone are arrested by racist cops and taken to jail. They refuse to let a doctor examine Harry’s arm. Sitting in the filthy cell, Tyrone mentally blames Harry for their situation. As the hours wear on, Harry and Tyrone are overwhelmed by withdrawals. On Monday, the cops handcuff Harry and beat Tyrone. Their court-appointed attorney tells them they will be brought up on vagrancy charges.

Marion is disgusted by what she had to do with other women at the party and disturbed by how easily she acquiesced, but the heroin, which she does not have to share with anyone, consoles her.

Harry and Tyrone are sentenced to three months on the work gang. They line up with other prisoners to be inspected by a doctor. Whenever Tyrone tries to support Harry, the cops beat him. Tyrone endures their racism, knowing if he retaliates, it will make things worse. The doctor finally looks at Harry’s arm; it reeks. Harry can hardly stand.

Sara is kept sedated on Thorazine with the other patients. She mutely accepts her medication and shuffles off to watch television.

Harry is unconscious when he is taken into emergency surgery. His arm is amputated at the shoulder, and he is put under intense infection therapy. He floats in and out of consciousness, at one time having a vision of going toward the light, but a horrible nightmare brings him back to life.

Tyrone suffers withdrawals, made worse by the abuse and racism of the guards, while working on the chain gang. Some of the other prisoners help him out. At night, he dreams of his mother.