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Chapters 13–15
Summary: Chapter 13
In the 1980s, Elwood is watching the New York Marathon when he is recognized by someone he knew at Nickel, a fellow student called Chickie Pete. Although Elwood usually ignores or hides from people he recognizes from Nickel, he goes for a beer with Chickie Pete. Elwood learns that Chickie Pete just left a rehab program and has no job and no place to live. Elwood tells Chickie Pete about Ace Moving but doesn’t reveal how successful he has become. Elwood feels bad about being alone in life and hates that Nickel boys are so traumatized that they can never really succeed in being “normal.” Chickie Pete asks Elwood for a job and gives Elwood his information on a napkin. Chickie Pete also reveals that he doesn’t remember Elwood’s escape. Elwood is disappointed as he had hoped his escape would have made him a legend at Nickel. Elwood takes a cab home and throws the napkin out the window.
Summary: Chapter 14
At Nickel, the boys spend two days fixing up the facilities before a “surprise” state inspection. In the past, a newspaper report with allegations of fraud or abuse had triggered inspections, but afterward only small actions were taken. This inspection is routine. While Elwood and Turner are clearing out the basement of one of Nickel’s financial supporters, Elwood tells Turner that he has been keeping a record of the Community Service deliveries and is going to give an account of abuses at Nickel to one of the inspectors. Turner begs him not to do it, but Elwood believes he is following the advice of Martin Luther King, Jr., and recalls excerpts from the speeches he used to listen to. Elwood recalls the letters he has sent to the newspaper about the corruption going on at Nickel. He hasn't gotten any response, but is unsure if the letters ever arrived or if the newspaper is just too overwhelmed with letters about injustice all over the South and are unable to print all of them. Elwood believes that most people have good hearts, and that when confronted by injustice, they will do the right thing. He thinks of the success of Rosa Parks, sit-ins, and integration of schools. Elwood believes that even if officials don’t want to do what is just, they will at least enforce the law. He thinks the inspectors will do the right thing because it is their job.
On the day of the inspection, Elwood looks for his chance to give the documents to an inspector but is thwarted when he’s sent to the farm fields after lunch, Turner volunteers to give the notebook to an inspector. Elwood isn’t sure Turner will do it, but later Turner says he gave it to the inspector who “looked like JFK,” wrapping it in a school newspaper and handing it to the man through his car window. For two days, nothing happens. Then Spencer and his new man, Hennepin, come for Elwood in the middle of the night and take him to the White House for a beating.
Summary: Chapter 15
In the 2000s, Elwood waits for Millie, his wife of ten years, at a restaurant in Harlem, in a gentrified neighborhood called Hamilton Heights. Ace Moving is successful and Elwood has a secretary and a fleet of trucks. He remembers being at the building in the 1970s and moving the belongings of an old woman who had died alone in an upstairs apartment. The job had made Elwood afraid that he would die alone too, and he associated that kind of sad, lonely death with the trauma of Nickel.
Analysis: Chapters 13–15
Chapter 13 fast forwards to the 1980s. Elwood watches the New York Marathon, something that reminds him of the camaraderie and sense of unity he has valued since his experience at the theater protest. He missed this sort of togetherness during his time at Nickel Academy, and it is no surprise that he seeks it out as an adult. When Elwood sees Chickie Pete, his decision to go for a beer with him is significant. Usually, Elwood ignores people he recognizes from Nickel, but deciding to visit with Chickie Pete hints that Elwood is progressing on his journey and beginning to feel ready to process his past. Despite this attempt at moving forward, Elwood and Chickie Pete don’t directly discuss their shared trauma. Chickie Pete’s life serves as an example of the toll that trauma and abuse can take on a person. Although Elwood has achieved a measure of success with his business, he still suffers mentally and emotionally. When Elwood realizes that Chickie Pete doesn’t remember his escape, it emphasizes Nickel’s ability to keep things secret as a means of oppressing its students and rendering them powerless. Elwood’s disposal of Chickie Pete’s contact information reveals that he still wants to keep himself separate from other survivors and leave his trauma in his past.
Chapter 14 goes back to Elwood’s time at Nickel when he uses the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. as inspiration for his plan to bring down the school. Although a state inspection should force Nickel to be held accountable for their actions, the corruption of the organization and its board means that Nickel is able to avoid any true consequences. Elwood decides he will give his records of abuses to one of the inspectors, which is significant because he is fully aware of the severe consequences he would face if caught. This level of disobedience shows that, at this point in his life, Elwood cares more about the greater good and standing up for what is right than he does about his own safety. In this regard, Elwood takes back control from Nickel because he refuses to let fear deter him any longer. When Turner asks Elwood not to go through with his plan, it is obvious that he still clings to his individualism and that he believes nothing good will come of Elwood’s well-meaning endeavor. However, he abandons this mindset when he offers to turn the notebook in for Elwood. As expected, however, Elwood suffers a beating for his transgression, underscoring the sacrifice he was willing to make.
Chapter 15 shows Elwood in the 2000s when he finally has the support of a loving wife. The mention of gentrification is relevant because it speaks to the lingering problem of racial prejudices long after the Civil Rights Movement. Prejudice and discrimination are still part of Elwood’s daily life even after Nickel. Elwood’s memories of moving the belongings of a woman who died alone are contrasted with the loving relationship he has with Millie. Although that job made him worry about dying alone, the knowledge that he won’t gives him a glimmer of hope for the future.
