47 pages • 1 hour read
Graham SwiftWaterland
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1983A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 21-25Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 21 Summary: “Aux Armes”
Tom refers to himself in the third person as the “Spokesman,” and ultimately digresses from his intensely analytical commentary on “rhetoric and reality, theory and practice, history and histrionics” to notice his class’s reaction to his ramblings, concluding the “whole class has grown tired of this tedious discussion of causes, preliminaries; analytical debate” (168). Therefore, as any skillful storyteller would do, he vows to give them action and drama in yet another juicy tale of his past.
Chapter 22 Summary: “About Coronation Ale”
Ernest Atkinson is a rebellious sort with political aspirations, but his ideas are too radical for the common populace. As a thinking man, he redeems political favor by producing a phenomenal ale to celebrate the coronation of George V. Many outrageous occurrences happen because of this stout ale, including the total destruction of New Atkinson Brewery by fire.
Consequently, Ernest and Sarah (Ernest’s wife) collect the insurance money, but not before many speculate that they started the fire, especially when Ernest cannot be found during the ordeal and a maid claims she sees “Sarah standing before the window […] saying with a grin on her face […] ‘Fire! Smoke! Burning!’” (178).
Chapter 23 Summary: “Quatorze Juillet”
Tom revisits the topic of the French Revolution and implores the students not to “overestimate the actual character or the actual achievements of the Fall of the Bastille” (178). He then compares the Bastille’s destruction to the brewery’s, claiming its fall was significantly symbolic of revolution.
Chapter 24 Summary: “Child’s Play”
Tom connects the Bastille idea with more current history by mentioning events from July 1805 and 1940, asking the question, “Now who says history doesn’t go in circles?” (180).
He then recounts one extremely rowdy day with his peers in July 1940, which involved much drinking, nudity, and frivolity during a “game of tease and dare” (182). This gathering includes his future wife, Mary; the boy who dies, Freddie; his brother, Dick; and others, and the episode ends with Mary finding an eel in her knickers, placed there by Freddie.
Chapter 25 Summary: “Forget the Bastille”
After Tom’s last titillating tale, his students are eager to “Forget the Bastille” and believe “he really means it. He’s really going to teach what he damn well likes. Really intends to chuck out the syllabus […] Only Price looks wary, only Price looks begrudging” (193). Tom believes Price sees ulterior motives in his approach but contradicts that notion by asserting all humans are curious creatures.
Chapter 21-25 Analysis
Chapter 21 addresses stress as a profound psychological effect when people attempt to save what they love during Tom’s disjointed internal monologue of past events. A desperate tone matches the frantic way Tom jumps from one topic to another, but it cools when he recognizes the needs of others, indicating that outer forces can save people from themselves. Chapter 22 revisits the theme of uncertain reality when another symbol of good will, the Coronation Ale, becomes first a source of happiness then later one of destruction as fire burns the brewery. Swift places this chapter directly after Chapter 21 to emphasize Tom and Ernest’s struggle to control their circumstances.
The revolutionary theme in Chapter 23 asserts “the tawdry conquest lies not in its tangible gains but in its symbolic value” (179). The idea that revolution offers a rebirth or new beginning is described as a misconception here, in that minor change may exist temporarily, but real change is unlikely, and old ways are reestablished more often than not. The initiation rite from adolescence into the adult world of sex and alcohol in Chapter 24 sheds particular light on Mary’s transformation from a cloistered, devout Catholic to an object of sexual desire and a subsequent fallen angel. Mary’s unapologetic surrender to temptation sets the stage for future exploits that ensure her absolute loss of innocence. In Chapter 25, as Tom’s mental capacities weaken alongside his ability to maintain control, Price gains strength and mental acuity, indicating yet another revolution in which youth will overtake the establishment in hopes of real change. Tom’s fatalistic view that real change is rare if not nonexistent is a lesson Price will either learn or disprove as the leader of the “rebellion.”
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