Being Henry David

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2013

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-4

Chapters 5-7

Chapters 8-11

Chapters 12-15

Chapters 16-18

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

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Discussion Questions

Chapters 16-18Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 16 Summary

Hailey picks up Danny from Thomas’s house before the Battle of the Bands. He’s moved by how pretty she looks. On the way to the school, they discuss how they feel about the performance. Danny is nervous being in the car, but tries to dismiss his memories. He wants to focus on being present for Hailey.

As the bands set up in preparation for the competition, Danny thinks about his former high school band friends and wishes they could be there “to share this with [him]” (253). Danny finds Thomas, Suzanne, and Nessa in the audience. When Danny asks where Jack is, Thomas explains that he found Jack raiding his medicine cabinet and got angry with him, so Jack stole some pills and ran away. Thomas blames himself for handling the situation poorly. Danny can’t believe that Jack would leave his sister, but Thomas argues that Nessa wants to stay in Concord because she wants a more stable life. He assures Danny that they’ll figure everything out together and encourages him to focus on his performance.

Danny goes backstage to prepare. Cameron and Hailey are arguing again. Danny and Cameron argue, too, and Hailey gets upset. Danny invites Cameron to finish the conversation outside. They get into a fight, but just as Cameron is lurching toward Danny, someone appears out of the brush and demands they stop.

Chapter 17 Summary

Danny panics, momentarily convinced that the figure is Magpie coming to kill him. But the figure is Jack. Holding a knife, Jack threatens to cut Cameron if he doesn’t leave Danny alone. However, Jack collapses and blood “trickles out of his hair” (263). Danny throws himself onto Jack, terrified that he’s dying. Cameron dials 911. All of the blood reminds Danny of the car accident again. He suddenly remembers that when he crashed the car, Rosie lost her leg.

EMTs arrive to help Jack and Danny. Danny starts spouting lines from Thoreau and calling out for Rosie, his mom, and dad. The EMTs worry that he’s not okay and say he has to go to the hospital. But then, Danny snaps back into reality, realizes that he has to perform with Hailey, and assures the paramedics that he’s fine. The EMTs take Jack to the hospital: He’s taken something and is having another reaction.

Danny goes back inside and joins his friends onstage. He puts aside everything he’s feeling aside so he can perform. They play well; Hailey’s voice transports Danny. Their band comes in second place. Afterwards, Danny wishes that he could tell Hailey the truth. She invites him to come over to her house to celebrate, but he declines when he notices two cops approaching him. Terrified that they’re there to arrest him, he tells Thomas, Suzanne, and Nessa that Jack is in the hospital, and flees. Thomas begs him to wait, but Danny keeps running.

Chapter 18 Summary

Danny makes his way from Massachusetts up to Maine. He finds the Appalachian Trail and wends his way through the woods. One day, he encounters a moose and wonders if it’s a good sign. He’s still worried about his friends but is glad that Jack and Nessa have Thomas. As he climbs, he remembers what Thomas said about contacting his parents. He can’t imagine facing them after what he did to Rosie. Danny also thinks about Hailey. Meanwhile, Thoreau’s words play in his head.

Danny mailed a letter to Hailey when he was in Bangor, Maine. In the letter, he explained everything that he could about his life and thanked her for her friendship, and promised to contact her soon. He wants to see her again, but only if she wants to give him another chance.

Danny climbs Mount Katahdin. Thoreau never made it to the top, so Danny wants to do so for both of them. He tries to focus on the climb, but his memories from the accident keep coming back to him. When the ambulance came, the EMTs tried to keep Danny from looking for Rosie’s other leg. Eventually, he and Rosie went to the hospital. After Danny recovered and was released, he snuck out of the house, said goodbye to Rosie in the hospital, and fled to New York to disappear.

Danny reaches a tricky place in the climb. He keeps thinking about his sister and parents, his new friends, Magpie, New York, and Concord. He can’t escape what he’s feeling and considers letting himself fall from the mountain. Then he hears Cole’s voice telling him not to give up. Danny starts to imagine a new life for himself in Concord and with Hailey and Thomas. He thinks about surviving for his family, too.

Danny reaches the top of the mountain. He looks out at the view and thinks about Thoreau. Then Thomas and Danny’s dad appear. Danny’s dad hugs him and tells him that Rosie is alive and will be okay. Their family just wants Danny home. Together, Danny, his dad, and Thomas study the view again and then head down the mountain.

Chapters 16-18 Analysis

Chapters 16-18 lead Danny through the final stages of his search for identity and his journey toward personal growth and healing. The experiences that contribute to the formation of Danny’s new identity are his participation in the Battle of Bands, his confrontation with Jack in the school parking lot, his fully recovered memories of the car accident, and his trek to the top of Mount Katahdin in Maine. Throughout Chapter 16, Danny is still “[f]orcing the memories away” and trying to “cram them into a closet and slam the door” (250). He knows that he is on the verge of having to face his past but continues to compartmentalize his memories of it so as to stave off his trauma. However, Danny’s perception of himself remains tinged by the tragedies he has lived through, in spite of his attempts to hide from them. The narrative therefore suggests that the negative Impact of Trauma on Self-Perception and Behavior is strongest before an individual confronts it. Danny reaches a turning point in the parking lot after Jack’s collapse; forced to remember what happened to Rosie and the role he played in the accident, Danny must accept his past to move on to his future.

Danny’s hike to the top of Mount Katahdin is symbolic: The mountain represents Danny’s uphill climb toward growth and recovery and the dangerous appeal of falling. On his way to the summit, he wonders how he can “climb back down this mountain and go on living” (195) knowing how he has hurt his sister and his family. The challenge is thus twofold: Danny must face the height of his pain and he must reclaim his belief that he deserves life and happiness. Katahdin is also the setting where Danny reunites with his dad and receives external forgiveness. The image of Danny standing on the top of the mountain with his dad and Thomas—the two father figures in his life, one standing for the past, one for the present—symbolizes Danny reconciling his former and new selves.

Danny’s experiences and reflections on the mountain strengthen his connection with Thoreau, his literary hero, showcasing the Influence of Literature on Personal Growth. After Danny realizes that he must “find a way to be the best of Danny, plus Hank” for Rosie, his parents, and himself, he decides that “Thoreau brought [him]” (300) to the mountain to teach him these lessons. Thoreau’s writings and his ghost have indeed guided Danny throughout the entirety of the novel, inspiring Danny to live “an authentic simple life” (300)—one of the exhortations of Walden. Danny’s ultimate ability to summit Mount Katahdin is thus symbolic also of the debt he feels he owes to Thoreau: Getting to the top of the mountain is a gift to the author who never finished the trek. It conveys his newfound ability to make peace with his past and to look forward to a new and better future.

These last three chapters lead the narrative through its climax, descending action, denouement, and resolution. In this final narrative sequence, Danny makes amends with his family, as represented by his father; with his present, as shown in his letter to Hailey; and with his future, as demonstrated by his decision not to die by suicide. In doing so, Danny has learned how to open himself to new experiences with a fresh mindset, reminded of the importance of community, friendship, and the ties of relationships. The novel closes on a hopeful, redemptive note that captures the possibility of moving beyond one’s pain.