Chapter 17, Valentine- Chapter 18, The Bump Summary and Analysis

In chapter seventeen, Sonny goes to hear Ed Johnson spin rock and roll records at The Dugout, in the basement of the Owl's Nest restaurant across from the high school. The teens in the area dance fast and slow in the dim lighting. The rocket boys take a break and go dancing. Sonny's tired of being tough and arrogant like his dad. The boys dance with different girls. Sonny is devastated when Dorothy, who he's never seen there before, enters with his big brother Jim. When they dance he feels his "soul curl up and die." Valentine asks Sonny to dance and he stops thinking about Dorothy and Jim. She leads Sonny out of the Dugout and into the back seat of Buck's old Dodge and locks the doors. Romantic songs play and...