Pgs. 3-40 Summary

The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen is the story of a typical Midwestern family that is confronted with the issues of old age and illness. The Lamberts, Enid and Alfred, have grown children living on the East Coast who they want to spend Christmas at their St. Jude home. She wants one last Christmas in St. Jude and this sets off a whole chain of events.

Alfred has been sleeping since lunch and is waiting for Enid to arrive home. They live in a house full of anxiety, which Enid feels is due to Alfred's lack of interest in life. She cannot get him interested in hobbies or anything else. She is looking for a letter that arrived from Axon Corporation in the drawers that are full of billing notices. She refers to Alfred as the governing force because he raids the...