Summary

The second section of the novel is titled “Part 2: America, 1840-1856.” This section consists of a series of letters from Robert to his family. The first is dated January 1, 1840, and Robert announces that he has “learnt” to write (69). He is in Canada, has worked on a ship on Lake Eerie, and hopes that no one else has died of the fever. The next letter is dated January 1, 1841, and Robert is in Detroit. He says they can write to him at the Winston Hotel, where he is a dishwasher. The third letter is dated January 1, 1842. He is traveling with a man named Jonah Parks who sells “medisin” (71). He says they can write to him in care of Jonah Parks to “almost any town in Indiana” (71). He wishes for news of the family and says he saw John Chapman, who said he no longer...