50 pages • 1 hour read
Julia WaltonA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
The day of the baby shower, Adam bakes dessert and tries to stay as removed from the party as possible. He hangs out with Maya, who tells him what it will be like having a baby in the house. Since Adam is old enough to be responsible, Maya assumes he’ll end up taking care of the baby more than siblings normally do. But knowing his limitations makes Adam realize he won’t be “the big brother my mom needed me to be” (220).
After the guests leave, Paul’s mother, who has a deep prejudice again Adam for his mental illness, pointedly asks where Adam will live after the baby is born. Adam’s mother flies into a rage and Paul takes his mom home before there is violence. Later, Adam asks Paul if he’s worried the baby will have schizophrenia. Paul isn’t worried about this; he jokes that Adam’s mom “could out-crazy you” any day (224). They laugh and drop the subject.
At school, a group of men from the Knights of Columbus visit to talk about the organization. Halfway through the presentation, Rebecca grabs Adam’s hand. Two big men bang their way into the room. They are hallucinations named Rupert and Basil that don’t come around often, but Adam knows they show up when “I want to argue but can’t” (227). The men trash the room and make disparaging comments about the Knights of Columbus, occasionally asking Adam for his opinion. Adam takes it for as long as he can before retreating to the bathroom. Rupert and Basil follow, badgering him about keeping his schizophrenia a secret. Adam loses control and vomits, yelling for Rupert and Basil to leave just as a younger kid enters the bathroom. The kid runs away, and Adam sees Ian in the hallway. Rebecca takes Adam’s hand and guides him home. Adam lets her, thinking that hallucinations “can hurt you without touching you” (232).
The dynamics of Adam’s family are shifting. Paul is becoming more comfortable with Adam and learning to protect Adam as his own son. The successful baby shower foreshadows Adam coming to love the baby and not being concerned about his illness once she’s born. As Paul moves closer to Adam, we can see where his initial prejudice originated: Paul’s mother dislikes and distrusts Adam, even though he is her step grandson, solely because of his schizophrenia.
Throughout the book, Walton emphasizes the idea that hallucinations are most harmful to the one experiencing them. Chapter 35 builds on this idea by suggesting hallucinations harm the psyche, not the body. Adam’s most harmful hallucinations force him to confront things about himself that he doesn’t like or acknowledge truths he’d rather ignore. While Rupert and Basil cannot physically injure Adam on their own, Adam’s desire not to hear their harangue makes their appearance dangerous. Adam is willing to do almost anything to stop listening to Rupert and Basil, which leads to him losing control of himself. This lack of control brings the true physical danger. Caught up in his anger toward his hallucinations, Adam could harm himself or others without realizing it.
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