Part 2: Chapter 5 Summary

This chapter deals with the follow-up to the killing and murder. Billy Dillon goes to the vacation house in Amagansett to tell Inez what has happened. Harry has a speech to make, and Billy is unable to contact him; typically, he is thinking only of damage control. He travels with Inez to Honolulu, and their discussion reveals that Inez's father has been mentally unbalanced for some time. Janet's husband, Dick Ziegler, is in Guam and is trying to get a flight out.

Part 2: Chapter 5 Analysis

The situation within the Christian family gives Didion the opportunity to make another statement about life in America. The Christian family has realized the American Dream in spades. They are wealthy, powerful, and live like Croesus. They are also dysfunctional in the most extreme sense of that term. Paul Christian's wife has left him because he...