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 5-7Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 5 Summary

Danny gets directions to Concord from a woman in the station. He tries to relax on the trip north. He still doesn’t know what he’ll do next but feels safer than he has since waking up at Penn Station. Soon, his mind is racing again: He can’t stop thinking about Simon and worrying about Magpie, Jack, and Nessa. Reading Walden to distract himself, he makes it through “most of the book” (63) before reaching Massachusetts. When he closes his eyes, paragraphs from the book appear in his mind and Danny realizes that he has a photographic memory.

Danny gets off the train in Concord. He wonders if this is where he lives and if anyone on the street will recognize him. He wanders around, studying the scenes, but doesn’t remember being there before. On Thoreau Street, Danny catches a teen girl looking at him. He studies her, too, noticing how attractive she is. When she introduces herself as Hailey, Danny says his name is Hank. Hailey guesses that he’s in town to see Walden Pond and Thoreau’s cabin because he’s holding Walden. Danny lies and says that he’s visiting Concord because he and his dad might be moving to town. Hailey invites him to come see her school: Henry David Thoreau Regional High School.

At the school, Danny and Hailey run into Hailey’s friend Danielle, who notices that Hailey is pale and asks if she’s okay. Hailey insists she’s fine. As the trio part ways, Danny has Hailey write her number in his book, as he doesn’t have a phone.

Danny finds his way to the Walden Pond State Reservation. He wanders around the woods, surprised that he’s made it all the way here from New York. Then he finds a plaque where Thoreau’s cabin used to be. He’s disappointed that the cabin is no longer there and just a pile of stones remains. As the sun sets, Danny gets cold. He finds a place to curl up. Halfway to sleep, Danny dreams that Thoreau’s ghost is talking to him. Danny has the feeling that Thoreau is making fun of him. When he wakes up again, Thoreau is gone and Danny feels lonely.

Chapter 6 Summary

In the morning, Danny walks around Walden Pond. Lines from Walden play in his head. Then he runs into a man and momentarily thinks it might be his dad. The man introduces himself as Thomas, explaining that he works for the park and that the park “isn’t open yet” (82). He is worried that Danny has spent the night in the woods and offers to share some food and coffee with him.

On the way out of the woods, Danny and Thomas pass a replica of Thoreau’s cabin. They talk about the site, the book, and Concord. Thomas buys Danny some breakfast and Danny realizes how hungry he is. Thomas asks Danny about himself, but Danny hesitates to tell the truth. Thomas offers to give him a ride into town on his motorcycle.

Danny wanders around Concord, trying to decide what to do. He ends up back at the high school but realizes that it’s a weekend. He follows some girls into an unlocked door and then into the auditorium where some teens are building a set. Danny spots Hailey on stage. When the auditorium door slams, Danny suddenly feels lightheaded and collapses. Once he recovers, he and Hailey greet each other. She explains that they’re preparing for the school’s upcoming Battle of the Bands. Then she and a guy named Cameron get into an argument, which ends when Hailey invites Danny to help with the set. Danny observes Hailey and Cameron’s tense interactions. Eventually, he wanders into the music room, picks up a guitar, and discovers that he can play. Hailey appears and starts singing along to Danny's rendition of the Beatles song “Blackbird.” They start talking about Battle of the Bands and Hailey explains that she’s not performing this year.

The other kids leave the school and Danny lingers, pretending to be waiting for a ride. He then runs into a janitor named Sophie who insists he looks like someone named Michael. The name doesn’t trigger any memories for Danny. Another janitor named Billy appears and the couple encourages Danny to go home. When they leave, Danny collects a set of keys they accidentally dropped and sneaks back into the auditorium to sleep.

Chapter 7 Summary

Danny returns to Walden Pond the next day. He’s gotten some sleep, but the cut in his side is acting up again. He thinks about Simon and worrying again about Magpie, Jack, Nessa, Thomas, and Hailey. Staring at himself in the pond and wondering who he is, Danny feels sick and lonely. Suddenly, he has a brief memory of his mom and dad: He can see himself in the woods with his dad, and then remembers his dad leaving with a suitcase. Then he thinks of his sister and sees a broken ballerina music box and a lot of blood. He realizes that his sister is in trouble and needs his help. Overcome by pain, Danny feels lightheaded and falls into the water. He contemplates letting himself drown but remembers that his sister needs him. He manages to get out of the water and walk back to the high school.

Danny lets himself into the school, dripping wet and cold. He accidentally sets off an alarm, races into the auditorium, and hides. Two cops show up and search the place. They see the wet trail Danny’s has left behind, but don’t find him. After they leave, Danny takes a shower in the locker room and changes into clothes from the Lost and Found before going back to sleep.

Danny wakes with Sophie sitting beside him. Worried, she says he looks like her late son Michael and encourages Danny to go home or call his mother. Before they part, Danny returns her keys.

Chapters 5-7 Analysis

The novel highlights the differences in mental state created by Danny’s changing settings. Since he doesn’t have a set of past experiences to shape his personality or identity, he is primarily reacting to his environment. In New York City, Danny relies upon Jack and Ness for advice. However, on the train, Danny is without a guide. During the train trip to Concord, Danny replays recent events and his anxiety amplifies. This setting worsens Danny’s internal unrest: He is “alone with [his] thoughts” (62), which causes him to panic as his mind floods with the gruesome memories of his brief time in New York. To relax and cope with his emotions, Danny relies upon Walden to distract and calm him: He can “[c]ompletely submerge myself in the world” (62) that he’s on his way to see, distancing himself from the stress of Simon and Magpie. The book therefore offers Danny calm and balance, illustrating how Walden will guide him as he journeys toward self-discovery.

The novel contrasts Danny’s experiences of isolation with his growing network of allies and friends. While in the woods and the school by himself, Danny is forced to confront his miserable loneliness, which is so disturbing that Danny conjures an imaginary companion, dreaming that he is conversing with Thoreau’s ghost; Danny’s disappointment to find the ghost gone when he wakes up is palpable. This conveys Danny’s troubled state of mind. Without companionship and friends, the narrative suggests, Danny is more unstable and vulnerable. Indeed, Danny later considers drowning himself in Chapter 7, as it “would be so easy, so sweet” to escape his trauma, fear, and alienation (111). While camping out in the high school, Danny feels similarly lonely. He is in a setting that should be familiar to most teenagers. However, he only feels more out of place, surrounded by teens he doesn’t know and unable to remember parallel experiences.

In contrast, Concord presents Danny with new opportunities for human contact. Venturing through the Walden Pond State Reservation, and Henry Daivd Thoreau Regional High School, and meeting Hailey and Thomas particularly contribute to Danny’s rootedness and connectedness—two things that his missing memory has taken from him. Not only do Hailey and Thomas act as guides during Danny’s first days in Concord, but they also don’t push him away or question him when they perceive Danny’s mental confusion, physical weakness, and marginalized demeanor. Instead, Hailey and Thomas empathize with Danny and offer him help, granting Danny some of the safety and nurturing that family would normally provide. Hailey and Thomas are thus a more resourced version of Jack and Nessa; they remind Danny that he doesn't have to survive on his own. Danny’s developing relationships with them foreshadow how necessary community support is to Danny’s remaining journey.