Chapters 51 - 60 Summary

Chapter 51: Horace Borrodaile and Percy Smith, two passengers aboard the Leviathan, have been watching Oscar with interest. For two weeks, they have noticed him sitting on the same red velvet sofa and refusing to budge. He has not once ventured up on deck, and although Smith has spoken to him frequently, he has yet to ask Oscar why. They have discussed Darwin, and Smith finds Oscar's lack of defensiveness charming. However, he fails to communicate Oscar's interesting viewpoints to Borrodaile properly, and Borrodaile remains unimpressed. Smith is an obsequious man who seeks to impress Borrodaile, who is is a large, masculine man and perhaps something of a bully.

Oscar is too preoccupied to listen when passengers like Smith and Borrodaile tell him of the glories of the sunsets and all the other sights he is missing. He is currently concerned with...