Book 1, Part 11 Summary

At the dance, Miss Thornton watches and worries as Allison first dances with Rodney and then sits beside her when Rodney disappears. Both Allison and Miss Thornton think to themselves how beautiful Selena looks, and how in love she and Ted seem. They also notice lonely Norman Page, brought to the dance by his mother and who attempts to comfort the obviously distraught Allison by asking her to dance. Allison is too heartbroken to accept the comfort he's offering. Rodney tries to get Betty to have sex, but she refuses and suggests he do it with Allison.

Miss Thornton experiences a complexity of feelings about the June graduation exercises. As she leaves the auditorium, Miss Thornton's wave of sadness goes away.

Book 1, Part 11 Analysis

Because this is the final section of Book one, it's valuable to consider how events here might...